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President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed for the second time a government bill aimed at regulating the crypto-asset market in Poland and bringing the country into compliance with EU rules. He says the bill was “virtually identical” to the one he previously blocked in December.
“I will not sign a bad law just because it was passed again by the parliamentary majority – a bad law passed a hundred times remains a bad law,” said Nawrocki, who aligns with the right-wing opposition. “Poland must attract innovation, not repel it. »
Oświadczenie Prezydenta RP Karola Nawrockiego 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/L1TRuHbWkL
– Kancelaria Prezydenta RP (@prezydentpl) February 12, 2026
The government argued that the legislation would help protect users of cryptoassets from fraud.
It also states that these measures are necessary for national security, given Russia’s involvement in crypto markets and the fact that Moscow uses cryptocurrencies to pay agents carrying out sabotage in Poland.
The ruling coalition, which stretches from the left to the center-right, may attempt to overturn the veto, as it did last time. But such an attempt would likely fail, as the government lacks the three-fifths majority in Parliament required to oust the president.
The bill aimed to help Poland comply with EU regulations on crypto-asset markets (MiCA) by designating the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority (KNF) as the body responsible for overseeing the sector.
After the government failed to override Nawrocki’s first veto in December, Parliament introduced an amendment to the new bill that lowered the maximum fee charged by the KNF to supervise the industry, from 0.4% of companies’ revenue to 0.1%. However, apart from this amendment, the legislation remained practically unchanged.
It still requires companies operating in the sector to submit information on their activities to the KNF, which would be empowered to impose sanctions if necessary. The law would also have introduced criminal liability for offenses related to crypto-assets.
Vetoing the first bill in December, Nawrocki said the measures were too burdensome, lacked transparency and posed a “real threat to the freedoms of Poles.”
PM @donaldtusk has called a classified meeting of Parliament in a bid to persuade opposition MPs to override the president’s veto on crypto-asset regulation, which Tusk says threatens national security.
However, in a subsequent vote, the veto was upheld.
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) December 5, 2025
Commenting on the veto, government spokesperson Adam Szłapka wrote on social media: “If someone loses their savings due to a lack of regulation and control, political responsibility lies directly with the presidential palace. »
In response, Nawrocki’s chief of staff, Zbigniew Bogucki, told Szłapka that “with his first veto, the president gave you the opportunity to improve this bad law… The responsibility lies with you.” He noted that Nawrocki said he was open to working with the government on a new and better bill.
However, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Nawrocki had failed to keep his promise to present his own crypto-regulation bill. He sarcastically accused the president of showing “touching loyalty to sponsors, both foreign and domestic,” referring to claims that Polish conservatives have ties to crypto companies.
Ministry of Pane @adamSzlapkapierwszym weem Pan Prezydent dał Wam szansę poprawić to złe prawo, ale premier Tusk pewnie się wściekł, że znowu bedzie musiał uwzględnić słuszne uwagi Prezydent i wydał rozkaz: ani kroku wstecz; This means that the poprawki opozycji, a… pic.twitter.com/NonmeJrehT
– Zbigniew Bogucki🇵🇱 (@BoguckiZbigniew) February 12, 2026
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński told broadcaster RMF on Friday that the ruling coalition would not stop in its attempts to regulate the crypto market, but he did not specify what measures would be taken.
Previously, Deputy Finance Minister Jurand Drop warned that if Poland does not appoint an authority to supervise the crypto market by July 1, 2026, companies will not be able to register in Poland and will instead move to other EU countries, leading to lower tax revenues for the state.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation funded by donations from our readers. We can’t do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: RDNE Stock/Pexels project
Olivier Sorgho is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland, which covers politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.
