The President submits a new draft act on the crypto-assets market. What does it mean for the industry?

On 8 September 2026, the President of the Republic of Poland submitted to the Sejm a new draft Act on the Crypto-Asset Market. This is the second presidential draft regulating this sector. According to information provided by the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, the proposal is based on the Government’s previous work and contains nearly 90% of the provisions previously agreed upon. The new draft has already been submitted to the Marshal of the Sejm, and the President of the Republic of Poland expects the draft to be considered at the next sitting of the chamber.

We have already written in more detail about the assumptions of the previous presidential draft and the Government draft in our earlier publications here and here.

The draft is intended to supplement the Polish legal framework necessary for the application of the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) and the Regulation on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets (Travel Rule). The draft maintains the earlier proposals regarding the choice of regulator, i.e. supervision of the market is to be exercised by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).

The draft also modifies, to a limited extent, the rules concerning the blocking of internet domains. Once a domain has been entered in the register, a telecommunications undertaking will have 48 hours to prevent access to the website.

Under the presidential draft, not all infringements committed on the Internet are to result in an entry in the domain register. The presidential draft provides that infringements other than operating as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) without authorisation are to result only in an entry on the KNF Public Warning List, without a simultaneous entry in the domain register. It is worth recalling that the corresponding Government draft did not provide for such a mechanism and any infringement could have resulted in an entry in the domain register.

The draft also gives the Chair of the KNF the power to request the blocking of a crypto-asset account or cash account for a period of up to 96 hours from the moment the request is received, where there is a reasonable suspicion of certain infringements of MiCA provisions relating, inter alia, to insider dealing or market manipulation. Article 64 of the presidential draft will allow the blocking to be extended or a specific transaction to be suspended for a period not exceeding 3 months, but this will require the prior consent of an administrative court. The court is to examine the application without delay, no later than within 24 hours.

The Government draft to date, by contrast, allowed the Chair of the KNF to request an extension of the blocking or suspension of a transaction for a period of up to 6 months, without the need to obtain the prior consent of a court – judicial review took place only if a complaint was lodged.

A complaint to an administrative court against the above-mentioned blocking request of the Chair of the KNF will be available within 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of that request, and the court will be required to examine it within 14 days from the date on which it is lodged.

The draft also provides for specific protection in the event of the unlawful application of these measures. If an account is blocked or a transaction is suspended in breach of the law, the State Treasury will be liable for the resulting damage under the rules laid down in the Civil Code. This solution is intended to establish domestic liability for damages arising from the unlawful application of a blocking measure or suspension of a transaction.

What are the consequences of breaching the provisions?

The draft provides for both administrative sanctions and criminal liability. For certain infringements of CASP obligations, the KNF will be able to impose on the provider a fine of up to PLN 30 million or 5% of its total annual revenue, where 5% of the revenue exceeds PLN 30 million. A fine of up to PLN 5 million may be imposed on the person responsible for the infringement (Article 105 of the draft).

Carrying on the activity of providing crypto-asset services without the required authorisation will be punishable by a fine of up to PLN 20 million, imprisonment for up to 8 years, or both penalties jointly (Article 122 of the draft).

When may the draft enter into force?

The timing of the adoption of the new provisions currently remains uncertain. Marshal of the Sejm Włodzimierz Czarzasty announced that the new presidential draft would be subject to the ordinary legislative procedure. Legislative work may continue until the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027, although no official timetable for further work has currently been specified.

It is also not yet certain whether the current draft will be the final attempt to regulate the market at national level. According to media reports, the Ministry of Finance is considering various scenarios. One of them involved preparing an entirely new draft. Consideration is also being given to postponing further conceptual work on the content of a new Government draft until the review of MiCA at EU level. Pursuant to Article 140 MiCA, the European Commission will present a report concerning the planned changes by 30 June 2027. Taking these reports into account, it cannot be ruled out that a new Government draft will appear only in the second quarter of 2027.

How can we help?

We support entities from the crypto sector in MiCA licensing processes, including in the preparation of the required documentation. If you are considering providing services after the end of the transitional period, we can put you in contact with partners enabling the continued provision of services under an outsourcing or white-label model.

In the event of winding down activity on the market, we also assist in preparing an orderly wind-down plan and the liquidation of the company.

If you are planning to obtain a CASP authorisation or adapt your business to the new requirements, we can support you at every stage of the process.