The lower house of Poland’s parliament, the Sejm, has passed a sweeping bill aimed at regulating the crypto industry, reviving legislation previously opposed by President Karol Nawrocki and sending it to the Senate for further debate.
The Crypto Asset Market Law, approved by 241 Sejm lawmakers on Thursday, remains unchanged from the version canceled earlier this month, the Sejm press office told CoinDesk.
“The bill was read by the deputies on Thursday and it was voted on and approved by them and sent to the Senate, where they will debate it and if they approve it, it will be sent to the president, otherwise, if they reject it, it will return to the Sejm,” a spokesperson explained.
The bill aims to align Polish law with the European Union’s regulations on markets in crypto-assets (MiCA). But critics, including Nawrocki and members of the Polish crypto industry, say it goes well beyond EU standards, granting the Polish Financial Supervisory Authority (KNF) broad enforcement powers, including blocking websites and fines worth millions of zlotys.
Nawrocki’s office cited the law’s ambiguity, overbreadth and high compliance costs as reasons for the initial veto, warning that the provisions could harm small businesses and allow domains to be shut down “with the click of a button,” an approach not taken by most EU countries. The size of the bill, more than 100 pages, has also drawn criticism for being excessive compared to simpler implementations seen elsewhere in the region.
Despite objections, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government reintroduced the law without revision, describing its passage as essential to domestic oversight of crypto markets. With the Senate now set to consider the legislation, the bill could face another showdown with the president, who once again retains the power to veto it.
