Crypto-Asset Market Act- Publication of the First Proposed Amendments to the Draft Act

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance has published the text of amendments submitted and discussed in the course of legislative work on the government’s draft Act on the Crypto-Asset Market (the Draft Act).

The document covers both editorial and substantive changes (a total of 45 amendments were submitted)- including those relating to the scope of supervisory powers of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), criminal sanctions for the provision of crypto-asset services without the required authorisation, online currency exchange, and the entry into force of orders related to the Register of Internet Domains used for the purpose of conducting activities in breach of MiCAR.

The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance will decide on 23 September 2025 whether to adopt the report and submit the Draft Act for further parliamentary readings. This implies that in October the bill will most likely be voted on by the Parliament and subsequently referred to the Senate.

Below we present selected amendments adopted by the parliamentary committee:

Clarification of the scope of KNF supervisory powers

Amendment No. 16 clarifies the scope of supervisory competences exercised by KNF over entities providing crypto-asset services.

According to Article 60(2) of the Draft Act, the subject matter of supervision is to include, inter alia, the financial condition of such entities and the compliance of their activities with the Act, with MiCAR, and with the delegated acts adopted thereunder.

The amendment extends this catalogue to include compliance with national implementing acts adopted on the basis of the Act. Under the original draft, KNF had no legal basis to cover this aspect within its supervisory review.

Clarification of criminal sanctions for the provision of unauthorised crypto-asset services

Amendment No. 35 modifies Article 121 of the Draft Act, which penalises the provision of crypto-asset services without the required authorisation. The key modification introduces a minimum sanction of at least six months’ imprisonment for the unlawful conduct of crypto-asset service activities.

Previously, the regulation only set an upper limit of five years’ imprisonment. The explanatory memorandum to the amendment referred to the need for consistency in the framework of sanctions provided for in the Draft Act.

It is worth noting that compared with the Banking Law, this change appears restrictive. Pursuant to Article 171(1) of the Polish Banking Law, conducting banking activities without a licence is subject to a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment, but no minimum sanction is provided. As a result, the unlawful provision of crypto-asset services- such as advisory services- would be sanctioned more severely than the conduct of unauthorised banking activities.

Clarification of definitional aspects concerning online currency exchange

As previously indicated, in the course of work on the Draft Act the legislator also intends to fundamentally reshape the regulatory framework applicable to online currency exchange activities. During the committee’s deliberations, it was decided to uphold this legislative direction.
Amendment

No. 40 clarifies the definitions relating to currency exchange conducted between parent companies and subsidiaries within a capital group.

It introduces an exemption from the application of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Law in cases where such exchange services are provided between companies belonging to the same capital group (in such instances, the newly envisaged obligations will not apply).

Extension of the implementation period for orders relating to the Register of domains providing services in breach of MiCA

Amendment No. 44 extends the period for the entry into force of orders directed at telecommunications undertakings, obliging them to block domains providing crypto-asset services in breach of MiCA at the request of KNF.

The deadline will be four months from the date of entry into force of the Act on the Crypto-Asset Market. In the original draft, such measures were to apply after 14 days from the entry into force of the Act, which was considered an excessively short period for integration and preparation of the infrastructure necessary for the effective functioning of the Register.

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