Polish lawmakers have failed to revive the country’s Crypto-Asset Market Act, leaving Poland without a domestic authority able to license most crypto providers under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.
According to the official Sejm voting record, 241 members supported overriding President Karol Nawrocki’s veto on September 4. Another 198 voted against the motion and three abstained. Repassing the act required a three-fifths majority of 266 votes, leaving the motion 25 votes short.
The vetoed act would have designated Poland’s competent MiCA authority and established the procedures for licensing and supervising crypto-asset businesses. Because MiCA already applies directly across the EU, the vote affected Poland’s supervisory machinery rather than the EU regulation itself.
Poland’s Financial Supervision Authority, known as the KNF, explained the practical consequences in an official statement published on September 4.
The KNF said that Poland has not formally appointed a public authority to perform most of the national functions required by MiCA. The gap covers crypto service providers and most token issuers, although the KNF retains limited authority over issuers of electronic-money tokens under existing financial-sector rules.
As a result, Poland cannot begin and complete domestic applications for authorization as a crypto-asset service provider, or CASP. That process can open only after national legislation formally designates the responsible supervisor.
MiCA’s maximum transitional period ended on July 1, 2026, removing the temporary basis under which eligible Polish businesses had continued operating through the country’s earlier virtual-currency registration system. The wider effect of that deadline, including which exchanges had obtained authorization before it expired, is covered in this review of Europe’s MiCA licensing deadline. The KNF stressed that neither national legislation nor a supervisory decision can extend the cutoff.
The missing domestic authority does not prevent every crypto company from serving Polish clients. MiCA authorization issued in one member state can be used across the EU through the regulation’s cross-border notification procedure.
The KNF confirmed that providers authorized elsewhere in the bloc can continue operating in Poland after notifying their home regulator. They do not need a physical presence in Poland or approval from a Polish authority before using this passporting route.
Two routes into Poland’s crypto market
The legislative gap treats domestic applicants and EU-authorized providers differently.
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POLISH APPLICANT Domestic licensing unavailable A Polish CASP application cannot be completed until legislation formally appoints the competent authority. |
EU-AUTHORIZED PROVIDER Cross-border access available A provider licensed in another member state can serve Polish customers through MiCA’s passporting procedure. |
This distinction places Polish applicants at a structural disadvantage in their home market. They lack an equivalent national application route while competitors with authorization elsewhere in the EU can legally reach the same customers.
An ESMA register updated in February 2026 showed formally designated MiCA authorities in markets including Germany, Ireland, Lithuania and the Netherlands. France had divided the relevant responsibilities between the AMF and ACPR.
Poland appeared in that register with the KNF listed as its intended authority, but an asterisk indicated that the designation had not been completed formally. The KNF’s September statement confirms that this position remains unresolved.
The ESMA document marked several other European jurisdictions with similar qualifications, so Poland is not the continent’s only incomplete case. However, its domestic authorization route remains unavailable more than a year and a half after MiCA became fully applicable, while several neighboring and competing markets can already process applications through their appointed supervisors.
Nawrocki returned the act to parliament on June 11 through an official veto notice covering the legislation passed on May 15.
In a separate statement explaining his decision, the president said he supported crypto regulation and consumer protection but objected to the government’s proposed framework. His office said that the legislation incorporated only one of 16 areas in which the presidency had sought revisions and remained too similar to two earlier proposals.
Nawrocki said he would sign a revised law. The disagreement therefore concerns the powers and national provisions Poland should place around MiCA, rather than whether the EU regulation applies.
The failed override prevents the May 15 act from taking effect. Closing the regulatory gap will require another proposal that can pass parliament and secure the president’s signature.
Until that happens, the KNF cannot complete domestic CASP authorization proceedings. Polish crypto providers will remain without a home-country licensing route even as companies approved by other EU regulators continue using MiCA to enter the Polish market.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal, financial or investment advice.
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