Poland’s Sejm has fallen 25 votes short of overriding President Karol Nawrocki’s third veto of a crypto regulation bill, with 241 lawmakers supporting the measure against the 266 required.
Summary
- The Sejm voted 241–198 to override Nawrocki’s veto, while three lawmakers abstained.
- Passing the bill again required a three-fifths majority, or 266 of the 442 lawmakers present.
- The legislation would have placed Poland’s crypto market under the supervision of the KNF.
- Donald Tusk cited testimony from the Zondacrypto investigation while urging lawmakers to support the bill.
Polish Radio reported on Sept. 4 that Poland’s lower house failed to pass the crypto bill again after President Karol Nawrocki refused to sign it for the third time.
Poland crypto bill falls 25 votes short
Of the 442 lawmakers present, 241 voted to override the president, 198 opposed the motion, and three abstained. Polish law required support from three-fifths of lawmakers voting with at least half of the Sejm’s 460 members present, setting the threshold at 266 votes.
An override would have required Nawrocki to sign the legislation. With the motion defeated, the latest version cannot advance through the legislative process.
The bill would have designated the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, known as the KNF, as the country’s crypto regulator. Its provisions were designed to support Poland’s implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, or MiCA.
Nawrocki has said he supports rules for the sector but considers the government’s version too restrictive. When he rejected the legislation on June 11, the president said lawmakers had addressed only one of the 16 changes proposed by his office.
“Bad law does not become good law simply because it is passed a hundred times,” Nawrocki said in a video statement announcing the third veto.
According to the president, the bill could place excessive burdens on Polish crypto companies and encourage some businesses to operate from other jurisdictions. He has also accused the governing coalition of repeatedly returning legislation that failed to resolve objections raised during previous rounds.
Nawrocki submitted a separate proposal that his office described as offering stronger safeguards against fraud and financial crime without imposing the same costs on legitimate companies. The president said Parliament had not supported his version.
Three vetoes have prolonged Poland’s MiCA dispute
The latest defeat follows two previous attempts by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government to pass a domestic crypto framework.
As crypto.news previously reported, Nawrocki rejected the first Crypto-Asset Market Act on Dec. 1, 2025. His objections included the regulator’s proposed authority to block crypto-related websites and the costs that companies could face under the law.
The Sejm tried to overturn that decision four days later. Lawmakers backed the override by 243 votes to 192 but failed to reach the required three-fifths majority.
After Parliament passed another version, Nawrocki issued his second veto on Feb. 12, arguing that it was almost identical to the original legislation. A second override attempt failed on April 17, when lawmakers voted 243–191 in favor and three abstained.
By May, the Sejm was considering competing proposals from the government, the president’s office, Poland 2050, and the Confederation party. The packages differed over the KNF’s enforcement powers and the financial penalties available to the regulator, according to earlier coverage of the bills.
The government-backed legislation passed the Sejm on May 15 against the backdrop of an investigation into Zondacrypto. The measure included licensing and reporting duties for crypto service providers, KNF supervision, and criminal liability for certain violations connected with token issuance and crypto services.
MiCA already applies across the EU, but national authorities still handle licensing, supervision and enforcement within the bloc’s common framework. The regulation covers crypto service providers, exchanges, custodians and certain token issuers, while allowing authorized companies to use passporting rules to operate across member states.
The EU’s transition period ended on July 1, leaving firms that lacked authorization facing service restrictions or an orderly wind-down. An ESMA register cited in June showed that 244 crypto service provider licenses had been issued shortly before the deadline, while Germany and France accounted for more than one-third of them.
Zondacrypto allegations shape the political fight
Before the Sept. 4 vote, Tusk urged lawmakers to override Nawrocki’s veto and referred to an investigation involving the defunct Zondacrypto exchange.
Polish Radio reported that Tusk read parts of witness testimony that implicated former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. According to the testimony presented by the prime minister, Ziobro had allegedly promised to stop the Zondacrypto case if he returned to power.
The statement alleged that PLN 2 million, worth about €463,000, was intended as “compensation” for Ziobro and would pass through a foundation established by his brother. Of that amount, PLN 500,000, or roughly €116,000, was allegedly assigned to Ziobro’s personal expenses.
Tusk said the testimony identified Ziobro’s wife, Patrycja Kotecka, as playing the main role in the alleged arrangement. The account forms part of an investigation, and the claims cited in Parliament have not been presented as court findings.
During the parliamentary debate, Tusk accused members of the opposition Law and Justice party, or PiS, of supporting people involved in questionable crypto dealings.
“You are disgracing yourselves,” Tusk told the lawmakers.
The political dispute surrounding the exchange had already surfaced during the second veto vote in April. At the time, Tusk alleged that Zondacrypto had received funds connected to Russian organized crime and had supported political and social events associated with right-wing groups in Poland. The allegations and the exchange’s political connections were detailed in an April report on Zondacrypto.
Nawrocki has rejected claims connecting him to the company. In April, he said he had never met Zondacrypto chief executive Przemysław Kral or company representatives and had no information showing that the exchange supported his presidential campaign.
U.S. crypto rules take a different route
For U.S. readers, Poland’s vote does not change access to American exchanges, crypto funds or other U.S.-regulated investment products. The Polish measure concerns domestic enforcement of an EU regulatory framework and the powers available to the KNF.
Washington has been developing its own system through federal agencies and Congress rather than adopting an EU-style single licensing regime. On Aug. 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a framework for certain investment contracts involving digital assets.
The proposal includes one exemption for offerings of up to $5 million over four years and another permitting qualifying issuers to raise as much as $75 million in a 12-month period. It also contains disclosure duties and a conditional safe harbor addressing when a crypto asset would no longer be treated as part of an investment contract.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the proposal was designed to give crypto companies clearer fundraising routes under federal securities laws while maintaining investor protections. The agency opened a 60-day public comment period following the publication of the proposal.
Unlike Poland’s bill, the SEC proposal focuses on securities offerings and does not create a national operating license equivalent to MiCA authorization. U.S. crypto businesses may also fall under CFTC rules, state money-transmitter requirements, and other federal or state laws, depending on their products and activities.
Separately, Poland has formally requested Ziobro’s extradition from the United States, where Polish Radio said the former minister has lived since May after losing refugee status in Hungary. The request covers 19 of the 26 alleged offenses he faces in a separate investigation concerning conduct during his time in office.
