Poland’s Sejm Re-approves Crypto-Asset Market Act, Sends Unchanged Bill to Senate
Poland’s lower house (Sejm) voted 241–183 to re-pass the Crypto-Asset Market Act — an unchanged version previously vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki — and has sent the bill to the Senate. The legislation aims to implement the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework domestically by creating a strict licensing and supervision regime under the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). Government officials frame the measures as national-security and anti–money-laundering steps. Critics, including MPs and industry groups, say the bill goes beyond MiCA’s baseline, concentrates power in the KNF, shortens transition periods ahead of the expected July 2026 MiCA deadline, raises compliance costs and risks pushing firms to relocate to more accommodating EU jurisdictions. The president has previously expressed pro-crypto sentiments but vetoed the earlier bill over concerns it threatened freedoms and stability; officials say a classified security briefing could affect his final decision. If the Senate approves the unchanged bill, it will return to the president and may become law or face another veto. For traders: the measure increases regulatory risk for Polish-based crypto firms and service users, could reduce domestic liquidity and onboarding, and may prompt relocation or operational changes by exchanges and custodians — factors that can affect regional liquidity and market access, though immediate global price effects are likely limited unless broader EU action follows.
Bearish
The bill raises regulatory risk for Poland-based crypto firms by imposing stricter-than-MiCA licensing and supervision under KNF, shortening transition timelines and increasing compliance costs. That can reduce local liquidity, slow user onboarding and prompt exchanges, custodians or service providers to relocate operations to friendlier EU jurisdictions — all factors that typically exert downward pressure on trading volumes and regional market depth. In the short term, traders may see reduced liquidity and higher spreads for assets traded primarily on Polish venues or by Polish-licensed services. In the medium-to-long term, sustained relocation or market contraction in Poland could lower regional exchange capacity and institutional participation, keeping downward pressure on local volumes and potentially impairing market access for some users. However, global price moves for major tokens are likely limited unless other EU states adopt similar extra-MiCA restrictions or the bill triggers broader regulatory contagion across the EU.