Poland’s Crypto Bill Stalls After Veto Vote

Image credit: Unsplash

Poland’s lower house has again failed to override President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of a crypto asset market bill, leaving the country’s digital asset rules blocked by a political deadlock. Lawmakers voted 243 to pass the bill despite the veto, with 191 voting against the override and three abstaining. The government needed 263 votes to defeat the veto.

The bill was meant to bring Poland’s crypto rules closer to the EU’s MiCA framework and give the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, or KNF, stronger powers over crypto asset firms. Its failure leaves Warsaw without the domestic supervisory framework the government says it needs to monitor the sector and protect investors.

The Government Fell 20 Votes Short

The vote was the second failed attempt to overcome Nawrocki’s veto on crypto legislation. A similar bill was vetoed in December, and parliament also failed to override that veto. The government later returned with a revised version of the bill, which critics said remained largely similar to the earlier text, before the president vetoed it again in February.

That leaves Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s coalition in a difficult position. It has enough support to pass crypto legislation through the Sejm, but not enough to meet the higher threshold required when the president blocks it.

KNF Powers Remain on Hold

The proposed law would have given KNF more direct tools to oversee crypto asset markets. Polish reports said the bill would have allowed the regulator to halt public crypto offerings and impose supervisory measures aimed at preventing market abuse and consumer harm.

Finance Minister Andrzej Domański said the veto leaves the market more exposed to fraud and weakens protections for participants. The president’s side has argued that the bill was too restrictive and failed to include necessary amendments raised during the legislative process.

The Bill Returns to the Government

The dispute now returns to the government, which will have to decide whether to rewrite the bill or keep trying to win over opposition lawmakers. Earlier reports said Nawrocki and right-wing parties argued that the proposal would burden crypto firms and push business out of Poland, while the government argued that the country needed stronger tools against money laundering and criminal misuse.

For crypto firms and investors in Poland, the immediate result is uncertainty. MiCA is already shaping crypto supervision across the EU, but Poland’s national framework remains blocked while the government and president remain divided over how strict the local rulebook should be.