Poland Crypto Bill adopted: “ Polish mica ” triggers the backlash

Polish legislators have approved a bill regulating the asset market in cryptography, introducing key restrictions and establishing a dedicated supervision authority.

The lower room of the Polish Parliament, the SEJM, voted on Friday in favor of a law on the crypto-active market, sending the bill to the Senate for examination.

Bill 1424, which has not yet reflected the apparent vote of third reading in the SEJM, presented a license regime for providers of cryptographic asset services (CASPS), aligning Poland’s regulations on the framework of the European Union markets in the regulation of crypto-sets (Mica).

The adoption of the bill has sparked a strong community response on its restrictive provisions, which introduce criminal liability for violations, including fines of up to 10 million Polish zlots ($ 2.8 million) and prison terms of up to two years.

Key provisions of the bill

The bill designates the Polish Financial Supervision Authority, Komisja Nadzoru Finansowo (KNF), as the main regulator of the country’s cryptographic asset market.

Under the legislation, all Caps – including exchanges, issuers and childcare suppliers, both national and foreign – must obtain a license from the KNF to operate in Poland.

To secure a license, the casps are required to submit a complete application detailing their business structure, their adequacy of capital, internal controls and compliance systems, risk management policies and anti-balance procedures (AML).

If the bill is adopted and signed, the casps in Poland will have a six -month transition period to obtain the required license. Not doing so could lead to the cessation of operations and the legal consequences.

Bill would “destroy” the cryptography market in Poland, warn criticism

Receiving 230 votes in favor and 196 against, Poland Crypto-Asset Market Act sparked an important reaction from the cryptographic industry and certain Polish legislators.

Janusz Kowalski, member of the SEJM of the Party of Opposition law and justice (PIS), criticized the implementation by Poland of the EU mica regulation, the too restrictive appellant and the warning could compromise the country’s cryptographic market and its three million crypto holders.

“This is the most important and restrictive law of EU cryptocurrencies,” Kowalski wrote on X after the bill adopted his second reading last Wednesday.

In relation: Pressure mica while national regulators challenge the passport

He stressed the excessive length of the law, describing it as “118 pages of over-regulation” compared to much shorter cryptographic legislation in Germany, the Czech Republic and other EU member states.

“Slowerest regulator in the EU”

Tomasz Mentzen, Polish politician and Blockchain defender, underlined the challenges of the implementation of the new legislation on cryptography in the midst of the regulatory procedures of Poland.

“The KNF is the slowest regulator to the action of the EU, with an average processing time of 30 months,” he wrote last Wednesday.

According to Mentzen, the approval of the bill by the SEJM indicates a “destruction of blockchain and stablecoins” in Poland.

He urged the Senate and President Karol Nawrocki to intervene and oppose his veto to the legislation to protect the cryptography market in Poland.

The president of Poland has committed to support the crypto

Mentzen’s brother Sławomir Mentzen was one of the Polish presidential candidates who promised to create a Bitcoin reserve (BTC) if it was elected in 2025. In the first round on May 18, 2025, he obtained third place with 14.8% of the votes, dragging behind Rafał Trzaskowski and Nawrocki.

During the runoff on June 1, Nawrocki won the presidency with 50.9% of the vote. A few days before the elections, he undertook to support the crypto, submitting against “tyrannical regulations” restricting freedom and innovation.

“In Poland, innovations must emerge, not regulations. As President of the Republic of Poland, I will be the guarantor that tyrannical regulations restricting your freedom do not come into force,” Nawrocki wrote on May 28.