Polish lawmakers have doubled down on a crypto regulation package rejected by President Karol Nawrocki, escalating tensions between the president and Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Polska2050, a party within the ruling coalition in the Sejm — Poland’s lower house — reintroduced the sweeping crypto bill on Tuesday, only days after Nawrocki vetoed the same proposal.
Supporters of the measure, including Adam Gomoła of Polska2050, framed Bill 2050 as an “improved” version of the vetoed Bill 1424. However, government spokesperson Adam Szłapka reportedly countered that “not even a comma” had been altered.
The renewed clash over crypto policy comes as EU member states continue implementing the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) ahead of the July 2026 compliance deadline for crypto businesses.
Critics say Bill 2050 is unchanged
The newly submitted 84-page draft effectively mirrors Bill 1424, maintaining its plan to install the Polish Financial Supervision Authority as the country’s main crypto asset regulator.
Crypto advocates, including Polish politician Tomasz Mentzen, have long argued that Bill 1424 amounted to “118 pages of overregulation,” especially when compared with the shorter frameworks adopted by countries such as Hungary and Romania.
“The government has once again adopted exactly the same bill on cryptoassets,” Mentzen wrote in an X post on Tuesday.
Mentzen also took aim at Tusk’s assertion that the earlier presidential veto was linked to supposed “Russian mafia” involvement, mocking the claim and saying: “The bill is perfect, and anyone who thinks otherwise is funded by Putin.”
According to government spokesperson Szłapka, President Nawrocki is now unlikely to block the bill again. After receiving a classified security briefing in parliament last week, Szłapka said the president “now has full knowledge” of its national security implications.
The MiCA dilemma: Local vs. centralized oversight
Poland’s clash over its crypto bill highlights a broader EU-wide debate on how best to implement the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). The current proposal places supervisory authority in the hands of Poland’s own financial regulator — a notable choice as some member states push for more centralized oversight under the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
The tension has grown as key institutions weigh in. In October, the Bank of France called for granting ESMA direct supervisory powers, warning that fragmented national oversight could weaken the EU’s financial sovereignty.
Other member states, however, have resisted the idea of centralization. Regulators in Malta argue that bolstering ESMA’s role could create unnecessary layers of bureaucracy and risk stifling innovation in local crypto markets.
Polish economist Krzysztof Piech — a vocal critic of the country’s draft bill — has questioned whether additional national rules are needed at all, noting that MiCA’s investor protections will automatically take effect across the EU in 2026.
While reports indicate Nawrocki may not veto the legislation this time, there is growing speculation that his office has been shown an “alternative” version of the bill. This version is said to be more aligned with MiCA and to remove direct supervisory powers from the domestic regulator in favor of a more market-friendly approach.
