The President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, has declined to endorse a bill that he believes would impose excessively strict regulations on the cryptocurrency market.
The president vetoed sections of the bill because they “represent a genuine threat to the freedoms of Polish citizens, their properties, and the stability of the state,” as noted in an announcement on his website on Monday.
The Cryptoasset Market Act was intended to align Poland’s legislation with the European Union’s (EU) Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, a framework designed to establish uniform oversight for the crypto industry.
President Nawrocki expressed concerns that the act would grant the government the power to disable crypto companies’ websites “with a single click,” emphasizing that the domain blocking regulation lacked transparency and could be easily misused.
This act could also drive businesses to neighboring countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia due to its lengthy and complicated nature. While similar regulations in these nations are approximately a dozen pages, Poland’s proposed act exceeded 100 pages. Additionally, the regulatory fees would favor larger corporations and banks, hampering the growth of startups, according to the president.
“Excessive regulation is a guaranteed method to push companies abroad rather than creating an environment where they can thrive and contribute taxes in Poland,” the update stated.
Nawrocki, who took office in June this year, ran as an independent candidate but received backing from the right-wing Law and Justice party, which is currently in opposition to the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Poland’s semi-presidential governmental structure means the president does not hold the same level of executive power as, for instance, the president of the U.S. The veto remains one of the most significant powers available to the president, which can only be overridden by a three-fifths majority in the Sejm, Poland’s parliament.
