A probe into Poland’s former biggest crypto exchange is adding pressure on Warsaw as Poland adopts MiCA rules before a July EU deadline.
Polish lawmakers adopted a crypto regulation bill on Friday as the country races to implement the European Union’s MiCA rules before a July deadline, Reuters reports.
The bill comes as prosecutors investigate Zondacrypto, formerly Poland’s biggest crypto exchange, after thousands of users were unable to withdraw funds. Prosecutors reportedly estimate total losses at more than 350 million zlotys, or about $96 million.
The case has become more than a failed-exchange story since Prime Minister Donald Tusk has suggested the platform may have links to Russian money, saying the exchange’s origins “are particularly shady.”
Citing Polish security services, Tusk told a government meeting earlier this month that Zondacrypto involved “the Russian mafia and its money involved in organising the Zondacrypto exchange,” though he didn’t elaborate.
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Poland Adopts MiCA as Zondacrypto Probe Turns Political
Zondacrypto’s founder, Sylwester Suszek, disappeared in 2022. Meanwhile, Polish media have reported that his successor, Przemyslaw Kral, is now in Israel, where he holds citizenship, complicating extradition.
The regulatory fight, however, is also tied to Poland’s domestic politics. The government has already tried twice to pass legislation implementing MiCA, but President Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the nationalist opposition, vetoed earlier versions.
In explaining his decision, Nawrocki reportedly said that the bill from the government would force crypto companies to leave Poland due to the costs involved with regulation, penalties, and requirements for reporting.
But President Nawrocki still can stop the new bill, too. The financial regulator in Poland has stated that companies operating there won’t be able to conduct crypto services if Poland doesn’t implement MiCA.
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