Poland's Parliament Fails to Override Crypto Bill Veto

The Polish parliament failed on Friday, September 5 to overturn the third presidential veto on the law concerning crypto-asset markets. The Sejm only gathered 241 votes out of the 266 required, despite pressure exerted by Prime Minister Donald Tusk amid the Zondacrypto scandal, an exchange accused of embezzling 94 million dollars of client funds.

The constitutional threshold missed once again

The vote of September 5 at the Sejm was the third attempt to overturn the presidential veto on the Crypto-Asset Market Act. President Karol Nawrocki had already rejected this text in December 2025, February 2026, and then June 2026. Each time, he cited the risks the law would pose to the economic freedom of Poles.

Donald Tusk had pushed for the urgent inclusion of the topic on the Sejm agenda the previous week. The debate was limited. The ballot ended with 241 votes in favor, 25 short of the qualified majority of three-fifths required by the Constitution.

Why does this law attract so much attention? Without it, the Polish financial authority (KNF) has no legal basis to issue licenses for crypto-asset service providers (CASP) at the national level.

A license impossible to apply for at home

MiCA applies directly throughout the Union, but each country must designate a competent authority to process applications. Article 143(3) of the regulation granted actors already registered nationally until July 1, 2026 to comply.

This deadline has passed. In its note on the absence of a competent authority, the UKNF confirms this: without authorization, a Polish company can no longer provide these services. Nothing prevents, however, a platform licensed elsewhere in the Union from serving clients in Poland thanks to the European passport.

There are thus two options left for Warsaw operators. Seek approval in another member state, or stop regulated services. The transition to post-MiCA already showed that few waited.

The Zondacrypto case changes the nature of the debate

The vote took place while the prosecutor estimates client funds lost at at least 94 million dollars, an amount reported by Bitcoin.com News. The platform’s head, Przemysław Kral, left Poland in April; the press places him in Israel, of whose nationality he is a citizen, making extradition unlikely. The Tallinn court declared bankruptcy of BB Trade Estonia, the company operating the platform, on August 27.

According to Polskie Radio, Donald Tusk put these facts on the table before the vote and directly targeted the presidential camp, accused of having paved the way for Zondacrypto up to the highest state levels.

“Zondacrypto infiltrated the Polish state for a long time and without hindrance“, he declared before the Sejm, according to the session account published by Bitcoin.com. He also cited testimonies heard by investigators, without legal decision value.

In short, the next episode will be played on the same threshold: 266 votes. Meanwhile, approval applications leave Poland, and the Polish text aligned with MiCA remains dead letter.