Today in crypto: Poland’s president vetoed a sweeping cryptocurrency bill over concerns it would stifle innovation and threaten freedoms, sparking a fierce political clash, the $11 trillion asset manager Vanguard will allow its clients to start trading crypto exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, and Republicans in the US pressed for action on the market-structure bill amid debanking allegations.
Poland’s president vetoes strict crypto bill, says it threatens “freedoms of Poles”
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki declined to sign a bill imposing strict regulations on the crypto asset market, drawing praise from the crypto community and sharp criticism from others in the government.
Nawrocki vetoed Poland’s Crypto-Asset Market Act, saying its provisions “genuinely threaten the freedoms of Poles, their property, and the stability of the state,” according to a statement by the president’s press office on Monday.
Introduced in June, the bill has drawn criticism from industry advocates such as Polish politician Tomasz Mentzen, who had anticipated the president’s refusal to sign it as it cleared parliamentary approval.
Although crypto advocates welcomed the veto as a win for the market, several government officials condemned the move, claiming the president had “chosen chaos” and must bear full responsibility for the outcome.
One of the main reasons cited for the veto was a provision allowing authorities to easily block websites operating in the crypto market.
“Domain blocking laws are opaque and can lead to abuse,” the president’s office said in an official news release.
The president’s office also cited the bill’s widely criticized length, saying its complexity reduces transparency and would lead to “overregulation,” especially when compared with simpler frameworks in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
Vanguard’s 50 million+ clients will have access to crypto ETFs from Tuesday
Vanguard, the second-largest asset manager in the world, is set to allow its clients to start trading crypto exchange-traded funds and mutual funds on its platform starting Tuesday, reversing its previous stance on digital asset ETFs.
Spurred by persistent retail and institutional demand, Vanguard will permit third-party access to crypto ETFs and mutual funds similar to how the firm treats gold, a Vanguard spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph in a statement.
The investment manager also said it has ruled out memecoins and creating its own crypto ETFs and mutual funds.
“We serve millions of investors who have diverse needs and risk profiles, and we aim to provide a brokerage trading platform that gives our brokerage clients the ability to invest in products they choose,” the Vanguard spokesperson said.
Republicans urge action on market structure bill over debanking claims
Republican lawmakers on the US House Financial Services Committee and House Oversight Subcommittee have released a final report on what they called “debanking of digital assets,” claiming that the previous administration was responsible for cutting off access to financial services for some crypto companies and individuals.
In a Monday notice, House Financial Services Chair French Hill and Oversight Subcommittee Chair Dan Meuser claimed that regulators under the administration of former US President Joe Biden “used vague rules, excessive discretion, informal guidance, and aggressive enforcement actions to pressure banks away from serving digital asset clients” — actions many Republicans have referred to as “Operation Choke Point 2.0.”
The report concluded that legislative action, among other measures, was necessary to provide clarity for the cryptocurrency industry. Hill and Meuser said, “Congress must enact digital asset market structure legislation,” known as the CLARITY Act, and other bills targeting the cryptocurrency industry.
“Overall, the CLARITY Act heads off a future Operation Choke Point 3.0 by reversing the SEC’s regulation by enforcement approach, enabling market participants to lawfully operate in the US under clear rules of the road, and making clear that banks may engage in the digital asset ecosystem,” said the report.
The Digital Asset Market Structure bill, which was passed by lawmakers in the House of Representatives in July, is under consideration in the Republican-led Senate Agriculture Committee and the Senate Banking Committee, both of which have released their versions of draft legislation.
Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott said in November that the committee planned to have the bill ready for signing into law by early 2026.