Poland’s parliament has failed to override the president’s third veto of a crypto market law — and now lawmakers are going back to the drawing board while the fallout from the country’s biggest exchange collapse hangs over everything.
By Ana Gonzalez | September 5, 2026
On Friday, the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s parliament, voted 241 to 198, with three abstentions, against overturning President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of legislation that would have implemented the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) into Polish law. The result fell short of the three-fifths majority required, with PiS, Confederation and Development+ voting against the motion. Now, according to Polish business daily Rzeczpospolita, the Finance Ministry is already preparing a fresh draft bill — the reset button on a regulatory fight that has dragged on for months.
The Hook: A New Bill After a Failed Override
A Civic Coalition spokeswoman confirmed the Finance Ministry is working on the new draft, and Polish People’s Party lawmaker Krzysztof Paszyk said the government would share timing details in the coming days. The reset comes after a remarkable losing streak: Nawrocki has now vetoed crypto asset regulations three times, the latest in June, despite the legislation passing parliament in May.
The president has said he supports regulating the sector and strengthening consumer protection — but accused the government of disregarding most of the proposals prepared by his office. Finance and Economy Minister Andrzej Domański fired back publicly, accusing PiS of defending Nawrocki’s repeated vetoes and then spending weeks attacking the state for failing to protect consumers, saying the party had again chosen “murky crypto business interests” over the safety of Poles.
On-Chain Evidence: The Zondacrypto Collapse Behind the Fight
You cannot understand Poland’s crypto wars without understanding Zondacrypto, formerly BitBay, once the country’s largest domestic crypto exchange. The timeline, as documented by Cointelegraph:
- Late 2025 into early 2026 — customers began reporting delayed and blocked withdrawals
- April 2026 — the exchange’s website went down, trading pairs disappeared, and its native ZND token collapsed to near zero
- Aftermath — Polish prosecutors estimate customers lost at least 95 million USD, with some estimates higher and thousands of users affected
Authorities launched a criminal investigation into suspected fraud and money laundering, tracing funds across Estonia, Italy and Switzerland. Several people have been arrested, including a stock trader and — remarkably — the head of the Polish Olympic Committee, over alleged connections to Zondacrypto. The scandal intensified political pressure for tighter oversight and helped push the Sejm to pass the original bill in May.
The Core Conflict: Regulation as Political Ammunition
The case has since been absorbed into Poland’s broader political war. Former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro has been alleged to have accepted political financing from Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral and his law firm — allegations Ziobro denies, saying he did nothing wrong and had no personal contact with the donor. PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński said the incidents had no connection to his party, while conceding Ziobro’s alleged actions were a mistake.
Government politicians and experts argue Nawrocki’s vetoes could expose him and right-wing parties to political fallout over an unregulated market — a case strengthened every time a consumer horror story surfaces. The irony is thick: the politicians blocking the MiCA implementation bill are the same ones the finance minister accuses of blaming the state for not protecting the very consumers the bill was written to protect.
Market Implications: What This Means for Crypto Users in Poland and the EU
For Polish crypto holders, the practical stakes are straightforward. Until a law passes, Poland’s implementation of the EU’s MiCA framework remains in limbo — leaving consumer protections, exchange licensing, and complaint mechanisms weaker than in neighboring EU states that have fully transposed the rules. If you hold funds on a Polish exchange, the Zondacrypto saga is a standing reminder to check whether your platform is licensed in another EU jurisdiction and to avoid keeping large balances on any single exchange.
For the wider European market, Poland is a test case of how domestic politics can stall even continent-wide rules. MiCA applies across the EU, but national implementation determines how it is enforced locally — and how quickly customers can get help when an exchange freezes withdrawals. A new Polish bill could reset the process, but with the same parliament, the same president, and an election calendar looming, nobody should assume smooth passage.
The Verdict
Poland’s crypto regulation saga is no longer a policy story — it is a political thriller with 95 million USD in lost customer funds as its backdrop. The failed override guarantees more months of uncertainty, and the fresh Finance Ministry draft is a restart, not a resolution. Watch the coming days for the government’s timing announcement. Until then, the safest assumption for Polish crypto users is that no one is coming to save them — which makes self-custody and licensed, EU-based platforms more attractive than ever.
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
third veto and a 241-198 vote, nawrocki is not moving on this. meanwhile zondacrypto victims just keep waiting for actual protections
Third veto, a 241 to 198 vote, and still no MiCA law in Poland. Meanwhile Zondacrypto customers are the ones paying for every month of delay.
this. every month without a MiCA law is another month zondacrypto lawyers stretch out the recovery. victims are collateral in a political fight
every month without a law is also a month zondacrypto claims it cannot process withdrawals cleanly under the old rules. the delay is the strategy for someone
delay as strategy only works while withdrawals stay frozen. eventually stalling for zondacrypto costs more political capital than just passing the bill
three vetoes and counting, nawrocki is basically running crypto policy from the presidential palace at this point. sejm needs 276 votes and got 241
276 was never happening with this coalition math. real question is whether paszyk’s fresh draft even attempts the supervisory majority again or quietly trims it
The veto math was never there. 241 seats is far short of the three fifths needed, everyone in the Sejm knew this vote was theater before it happened.
241 votes against a three fifths requirement was theater from the day it was scheduled. the fresh draft is where the actual fight starts
theater is exactly right, 241 was never near the 276 needed. the real question is whether the fresh draft survives contact with nawrocki a fourth time
every month without a MiCA law is another month zondacrypto lawyers stretch the recovery. victims are paying interest on a political stall
Domanski blaming PiS for defending the vetoes while his ministry ignored the president proposals, both sides look ridiculous here
Klaudia exactly, and Paszyk dodging the timing question says everything about how fast this new bill will actually move
pis voting against miCA implementation while claiming to be the pro market party, make it make sense. third veto in a row lol
nah the real story is nawrocki owning this. three vetoes while zondacrypto victims still wait for real answers
PiS never claimed to be pro market, they claim to be anti Brussels. voting against MiCA implementation is the whole brand
fresh draft bill already in the works per rzeczpospolita, so this was theater. they knew the override would fail before friday
finance ministry drafting yet another bill while the EU deadline clock runs. poland is speedrunning an infringement procedure here
watching a country restart MiCA implementation from zero while the EU deadline clock runs, peak bureaucracy speedrun
a new MiCA draft while the EU infringement clock runs means poland picked a fight with brussels and its own president at the same time. expensive flex for crypto users
fighting brussels and your own president at the same time sounds expensive until you realize PiS gets to run the anti-establishment ad on loop either way
third override failed at 241 to 198 and now the finance ministry drafts from scratch. wonder if the new bill lands before the EU infringement letter does
infringement letter is already late by EU standards. brussels gave poland months on transposition and the sejm spent them all on veto theater
fourth draft and paszyk still dodged the timing question. that dodge tells you more about the schedule than any press statement will
fresh draft from the finance ministry while zondacrypto withdrawal complaints keep stacking. every restart of this bill is another quarter of limbo for people with frozen funds
zondacrypto users reading about a fourth draft while withdrawals stay frozen is the whole story. mica was supposed to prevent exactly this kind of limbo
241 to 198 and still short of three fifths. third veto, same result. nawrocki just wins this one
meanwhile zondacrypto account holders still cant withdraw. regulation theater at its finest
MiCA applies in Poland regardless. All the veto achieves is delaying the national supervisory framework while Zondacrypto victims wait.