Government pushes for crypto regulation despite presidential concerns
Poland’s government has taken an unusual step by resubmitting a cryptocurrency bill that was just vetoed last week by President Karol Nawrocki. According to reports from Rzeczpospolita, Prime Minister Donald Tusk is now urging the president to sign the legislation, framing it as a national security issue.
The bill, called the Cryptoasset Market Act, would bring Poland’s regulatory framework in line with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations. That’s the EU’s attempt to create a single rulebook for crypto oversight across all member states. What’s interesting here is that the government resubmitted the exact same legislation without making any changes to address the president’s concerns.
National security concerns drive the push
Tusk’s argument centers on security threats. He claims that Poland’s official register of cryptocurrency companies includes over 100 entities with direct links to Russia, Belarus, and other former Soviet states. “This is a wake-up call,” Tusk said, according to the report. “We must ensure the security of the state and its citizens in this matter.”
The prime minister went further, suggesting that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being used as tools for hostile activities. “Unfortunately, cryptocurrencies often serve as a tool for sabotage, including by enemies of the Polish state,” he said. “So basic control is all the more necessary and essential.”
I think there’s something worth noting here about the timing and approach. The government isn’t trying to negotiate or compromise—they’re sending the same bill back, which suggests they believe the security argument will be compelling enough to overcome the president’s objections.
The presidential veto and its reasoning
President Nawrocki vetoed the legislation last week, and his reasoning was quite different from the government’s security concerns. On his website on December 1, he argued that the bill would impose overly stringent regulations on the crypto market. He went as far as saying the legislation “poses a real threat to the freedom of Poles, their property and the stability of the state.”
That’s strong language from a president, especially when you consider he’s talking about financial regulation rather than something like martial law or emergency powers. It makes me wonder if there’s more to this disagreement than just different views on crypto regulation.
Perhaps there’s a broader political tension at play here, or maybe the president genuinely believes these regulations would be too restrictive. It’s hard to say without seeing the actual text of the bill, but the fact that he used terms like “threat to freedom” suggests he sees this as more than just technical financial regulation.
What happens next?
This situation creates an interesting standoff. The government is pushing forward with what they see as essential security measures, while the president is standing firm on what he views as excessive regulation. Normally, when a president vetoes legislation, the government would either drop it or try to negotiate changes.
But here, they’re taking the unusual route of resubmitting the exact same bill. That puts pressure on the president to either change his position or face criticism for not addressing what the government calls national security threats.
The MiCA regulations are coming to the EU anyway, so Poland will eventually need to implement some version of these rules. The question seems to be about timing and specific implementation details. The government wants to move quickly, citing security concerns, while the president wants to ensure the regulations don’t go too far.
It’s a classic tension between security and freedom, but with the added complexity of cryptocurrency regulation, which is still a relatively new area for most governments. How this plays out could set important precedents for how Poland balances these competing interests in the digital age.
