On Dec. 2, 2025, President Karol Nawrocki vetoed Poland’s domestic bill to implement the MiCA framework, asserting that it posed “threats to the Freedoms of Poles.” The decision immediately introduced legal uncertainty for firms seeking MiCA authorization and reopened a political debate over consumer protection and market freedom.
Core objections and the scope of presidential concerns
The president’s office centered its veto on excessive regulatory reach, disproportionate costs, and emergency enforcement powers. The draft law would have allowed the KNF to block cryptocurrency company websites “with a single click,” a capability described as a direct risk to free speech, property rights and national stability.
Critics also objected to the bill’s 0.4% annual revenue fee and its more than 100-page length, arguing that the proposal exceeded MiCA’s obligations even though MiCA itself aims to harmonize rules for issuers, service providers and market integrity across the EU.
The veto triggered a sharp political split between the presidency and the government. Finance Minister Andrzej Domański warned the market was left “in chaos and a vacuum,” removing protections for an estimated 20% of Poles invested in crypto—a group cited as representing over one million people. Government spokespeople added that fraud risks would increase without a rapid legislative fix.
Industry stakeholders had already argued that the bill’s size and cost structure would push startups abroad, and they highlighted the KNF’s historically slow licensing pace, averaging 30 months, as a major barrier for domestic operators.
The veto created an immediate operational gap, since Polish VASPs can no longer apply for MiCA authorization, which is required to passport services across the EU once MiCA takes full effect in December 2026. This leaves compliance teams facing short-term regulatory uncertainty and medium-term jurisdictional migration risks, including disrupted licensing timelines, reassessed fee projections linked to the 0.4% levy, and elevated jurisdictional risk for custodians and token issuers expecting to scale from Poland.
The veto now returns the draft to the Sejm, where it can be overridden only with a three-fifths majority, a difficult threshold. For compliance officers and treasuries, the immediate priority is contingency planning, including monitoring parliamentary developments, reassessing cross-border authorization strategies, and maintaining thorough records to preserve auditability during the legal vacuum.
