It comes as the Polish parliament prepares to adopt a controversial crypto law, likely to be vetoed by the president.
Members of the Polish parliament have been promised each a copy of “The Bitcoin Standard” book to acquaint themselves with the matter they are trying to regulate.
The initiative comes at the right time, as lawmakers in Warsaw are still struggling to adopt a legal framework that would introduce rules for the industry without stifling it.
Polish politicians urged to read about Bitcoin
A group of Bitcoin enthusiasts in Poland has set out to enlighten their representatives in the legislative branch of power about cryptocurrency.
They plan to send every deputy in the Sejm, the lower house of parliament, and every senator in the upper chamber, a copy of Saifedean Ammous’s work, “The Bitcoin Standard.”
Bitcoin.pl informed about the self-warranting move of the Polish crypto community on Tuesday, providing the reasoning behind it:
“If someone is going to regulate the industry, they should at least know what they are actually regulating.”
The initiative is funded through a campaign on Geyser, a crypto crowdfunding platform helping various causes and spreading awareness about Bitcoin in Poland.
It aims to deliver 560 copies of the book to as many members of the bicameral Polish legislature. Each volume will be accompanied by an open letter, which is intended, the organizers stress, as an invitation for dialogue, not as a political statement.
The point they are making is simple — lawmakers should have a clear understanding of the fundamentals of the technology they are trying to control before they decide the future of cryptocurrency in the country.
“The Bitcoin Standard” is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what Bitcoin truly is – not just as a speculative asset, but as an alternative monetary system, the Polish crypto news outlet insisted, with the author of the article, Jeremiasz Krok, further commenting:
“One might be skeptical about this initiative – after all, one book won’t change the system. But it might make a few parliamentarians ask themselves: do I really understand what I’m voting on?”
The book, the full title of which is “The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central Banking,” was written by Palestinian-Jordanian economist and prominent crypto proponent Saifedean Ammous and first published in 2018.
He attempts to explain the economics of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin while critiquing fiat currencies and mainstream economic policies, which won him significant following in the crypto space and beyond.
Poland in limbo over controversial crypto law
This year, the Polish authorities have been trying to finally adopt the delayed legislation to transpose the latest EU cryptocurrency rules into national law.
A bill submitted by the finance ministry in Warsaw was passed by the Sejm in late September but has yet to be approved by the Senate.
The draft has been met with criticism as some of its provisions allegedly go far beyond the requirements of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law, creating the risk of overregulation.
Representatives of Poland’s crypto industry and community warned that it will threaten the survival of domestic cryptocurrency businesses if adopted as is, and may result in their exodus from the country.
Their last hope lies with the nation’s new head of state, President Karol Nawrocki, who stepped into office in August and is preparing to veto the crypto act put forward by the cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to a report by the Rzeczpospolita daily.
But a warning has now come from the side of the government, too, with Deputy Finance Minister Jurand Drop insisting that without the proposed legislation, it will be impossible for crypto companies to legally operate in Poland.
The organizers of the Bitcoin book giveaway for Polish lawmakers are convinced Poland has an important choice to make – either become a hub for financial innovation or repeat the mistakes of nations that continue to ignore the digital revolution in finance.
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