Polish lower house approves revived crypto bill, heads to Senate

The Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s legislature, has again passed a bill that could impose restrictions on the cryptocurrency market, following the country’s president’s veto of an earlier attempt.

In a Thursday vote, Polish lawmakers voted 241 for and 183 against the Crypto-Assets Market Act, a bill previously vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki. On Friday, the bill was sent to the Senate for further consideration.

Progress of Poland’s Crypto-Asset Market Act. Source: Sejm

The crypto bill is intended to align Poland’s regulations with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, with member states expected to transition by July 2026. The same version of the bill, which passed the lower house in September, received criticism from some lawmakers and industry advocates, who claimed it could threaten the country’s crypto market and its users.

Though the first attempt at passing the bill made it through the Polish Senate, Nawrocki vetoed it in December, claiming that it would “genuinely threaten the freedoms of Poles, their property, and the stability of the state.” Lawmakers reintroduced the bill without any changes last week.

The Senate is now set to review the bill, and, if approved, it may end up once again on Nawrocki‘s desk.

A government spokesperson reportedly said that the bill is likely to be signed into law this time, following a classified security briefing that provided the president with “full knowledge” of its implications for national security.

Related: Binance updates crypto rules in Poland to meet new MiCA requirements

Cointelegraph reached out to the president’s office for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Polish president campaigned against crypto regulations

Nawrocki, who assumed office in August, sided with crypto industry advocates ahead of the second round of the presidential election. In a May X post, he said that he would guarantee “no oppressive laws” would be implemented in the digital asset industry, adding “Poland needs innovation, not regulation,” according to a translated statement.

Nawrocki narrowly won his election with 50.89% of the vote for a five-year term. He is eligible to run for a second term in 2030.

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