Poland becomes EU’s lone MiCA holdout after parliament fails to overturn veto on crypto bill
Poland remains the sole EU holdout on MiCA regulation after parliament failed to override the President's veto on the national crypto bill.Summary
Polish lawmakers in the Sejm failed by 18 votes to secure the necessary three-fifths majority to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto on a comprehensive crypto bill intended to align the country with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. This failure forces the Tusk government to restart the entire legislative process if it wishes to establish a domestic digital asset regime.
The veto was driven by Nawrocki's supporters, who argued the bill was overly complex compared to other MiCA implementations and risked driving domestic crypto firms abroad. Conversely, Prime Minister Donald Tusk attempted to rally support by citing national security concerns, claiming Russian intelligence and organized crime exploited digital assets for financing. Industry groups were divided, with some supporting the bill for clarity while others, like Zondacrypto, criticized it as a step backward that could criminalize core blockchain development.
This regulatory gap leaves Poland an outlier as neighboring EU states, including Germany and the Netherlands, begin issuing MiCA-compliant licenses. Despite the vacuum, Poland's crypto market is expanding rapidly, with millions of citizens using digital assets. Meanwhile, the European Commission is considering proposals to centralize supervision of crypto exchanges across the bloc, potentially diminishing the long-term importance of individual national implementations.
(Source：The Block)