Speaking ahead of a Cabinet meeting, Tusk cited information from Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) that he said raised “serious questions” about why politicians from the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, the far-right Confederation grouping and allies of President Karol Nawrocki opposed tighter oversight of the sector.
“The time is inevitably approaching for another vote in parliament on the president’s veto,” Tusk said, arguing that the proposed law was "not overregulation" but was meant to “protect people from events that could dramatically affect their wallets.”
Nawrocki vetoed the crypto market bill in February for a second time. The legislation was designed to implement European Union rules under the bloc's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation and would have introduced supervisory measures, including giving Poland's Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) the power to halt or ban public offerings of crypto assets.
According to Tusk, information provided by the ABW shows that in October and November—a month before parliament first voted on overriding the president’s veto—the chief executive of the Zondacrypto cryptocurrency exchange, Przemysław Kral, made payments to two foundations.
Tusk said PLN 450,000 (EUR 105,000 USD 125,000) went to the Institute of Sovereign Poland foundation linked to former Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, with part of the funds used to support legal defence costs for politician Dariusz Matecki and priest Michał Olszewski in a case involving the alleged misuse of public funds.
He added that another company linked to Zondacrypto and Kral transferred EUR 70,000 to a foundation associated with Confederation lawmaker Przemysław Wipler.
Tusk also said the exchange was the main sponsor of a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event held during the 2025 presidential campaign, attended by then-President Andrzej Duda and Nawrocki, who was a candidate at the time.
Tusk called on lower-house Speaker Włodzimierz Czarzasty to schedule a vote on overriding the veto as soon as possible.
“There is no time to lose: Let’s reject the president’s veto,” he wrote later on the X social media platform.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said the vote could take place during the next parliamentary session scheduled for April 14-17, adding that the government would continue efforts to regulate the crypto market, particularly in light of reports that politicians had been lobbied ahead of the earlier vote.
Nawrocki has defended his vetoes, saying the bill contained excessive and unclear provisions and failed to address fundamental flaws.
“Bad law, even passed a hundred times, remains bad law,” he said in February.
Separately, media reports this week raised concerns about Zondacrypto’s operations, saying the exchange's accessible bitcoin reserves had fallen by 99 percent, leading to customers facing delays in withdrawing funds.
The company’s chief executive has denied the reports, calling them inaccurate and misleading.
Poland’s National Public Prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday that prosecutors would examine reports of possible irregularities in the exchange’s operations, following a request by Justice Minister Waldemar Żurek.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński warned on Tuesday that thousands of investors could wake up without their life savings, blaming Nawrocki and the PiS party for blocking crypto market regulations.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domański noted that Nawrocki had twice vetoed legislation that would have extended the powers of Poland's financial watchdog to cover firms operating in the country under foreign licences.
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Source: IAR, PAP