Polish prime minister asks parliament to override crypto law veto over Russian sabotage funding

Tusk Pushes for Override Before Friday Vote

Polish Prime Minister @donaldtusk pressed lawmakers on Wednesday to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's (@NawrockiKn) latest veto of the country's crypto market law, with a crucial Sejm vote scheduled for Friday. Tusk warned that Russia uses crypto as its "main, almost sole" means of financing sabotage operations on Polish soil, framing the legislation as a matter of national security as much as financial regulation.

Nawrocki, who was backed by the Law and Justice party (PiS) in the 2025 presidential election, has vetoed government legislation regulating crypto assets three times: in December 2025, and again in February and June 2026, arguing each time that the measures amounted to excessive regulation. The governing coalition has so far failed to secure the three-fifths parliamentary majority needed to override the first two vetoes.

MiCA Compliance and the Zondacrypto Controversy

The bill would place cryptocurrency platforms under the supervision of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), bringing Poland into line with the European Union's MiCA framework for crypto assets. Under the legislation, the KNF would be empowered to sanction crypto firms, freeze fiat or digital-asset accounts, and suspend transactions for up to 96 hours, with longer restrictions possible in certain cases.

The ongoing political deadlock between the government and the president has left Poland as the only EU country yet to fully implement the bloc's MiCA framework. Without a local legal structure in place, the KNF cannot grant MiCA-compliant licenses to local operators, meaning Polish crypto asset service providers will be unable to leverage the EU's passporting privileges, which allow a company regulated in one member state to trade freely across the European single market.

The push to override the veto comes as the Zondacrypto affair adds political weight to the debate. Tusk has linked his criticism of the presidential veto to a wider controversy surrounding Zondacrypto, one of Poland's largest crypto exchanges, which prosecutors are investigating over suspected fraud and money laundering involving nearly 2,000 customers and alleged ties to Russian organized crime. Without the law, domestic platforms have remained outside the EU licensing system, leaving supervisors with fewer tools as the Zondacrypto inquiry widens.

Nawrocki has said the government incorporated only one of 16 changes his office proposed, and that the bill still grants excessive powers to the KNF without adequate consumer protections or judicial oversight. Overriding the veto requires a three-fifths majority in the Sejm. An earlier attempt failed by 20 votes, and Tusk's coalition does not currently hold enough seats to reach the 263-vote threshold on its own.

Sources:
Anadolu Agency: Polish premier seeks new vote on crypto law veto amid Zondacrypto probe
Crypto Times: Poland president vetoes crypto bill for third time, triggers MiCA deadline crisis
TVP World: Polish PM Tusk blasts Nawrocki after third crypto bill veto