Political debate over who is to blame for a lack of oversight in the digital asset sector has reignited in Warsaw following reports that Poland and the region’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges may be facing bankruptcy.
Poland’s cryptocurrency market, perhaps the largest in Eastern Europe, is still unregulated according to the European Union’s latest rules. Previous attempts by the government were blocked by the president.
A European cryptocurrency exchange based in Poland has reportedly lost liquidity.
ZondalCrypto, one of the oldest and largest coin trading platforms in Central and Eastern Europe, has lost liquidity, local and regional media reported.
The Brussels Signal portal reported on Wednesday that some users have complained that they are unable to withdraw funds from the exchange. Some people have experienced delays.
Zondarcrypto has lost more than 99% of its reserves, according to an analysis conducted by market intelligence firm Recoveris, cited by websites Wirtualna Polska and Money.pl earlier this week.
In a study commissioned by Wirtualna Polska, crypto recovery companies estimated that their Bitcoin assets had declined from more than $55. $BTC By August 2024 it will be only 0.18 $BTC In March 2026.
Zonda CEO Przemysław Kral denied these claims, blaming the withdrawal difficulties on “temporary technical issues” and manual payment delays.
In a post on X, the cryptocurrency executive accused two Polish media outlets of creating panic based on false data and insisted that the company is “stable, solvent and safe.”
Krall said analysts made a mistake in considering only the exchange’s hot wallets, when most of the exchange’s assets are stored in cold wallets as part of its liquidity management strategy. He is confident that the company will be able to adequately cover all its obligations, saying:
“As of April 1st, our reserve balance was $4,500 in Bitcoin alone.” $BTC”
Zondacrypt incident sparks new political conflict in Poland
Zondacrypto was founded in Poland, but moved its headquarters to Estonia in 2019 and currently operates under a license issued by the Baltic state.
However, Poland has not yet adopted legislation translating EU crypto market regulations into national law and has not started issuing its own licenses.
The bill, introduced by Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centre-left government, was twice vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki, who is allied with the right-wing opposition.
ZondaCrypto’s alleged liquidity problems have sparked a new political clash between the two companies over who is responsible for the lack of proper regulatory oversight in the industry.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said that due to the veto by the head of state, Poland’s financial watchdog, the KNF, had lost its regulatory powers over companies operating under foreign licenses.
Poland’s Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński echoed this sentiment, warning that thousands of investors could lose their savings and blaming President Nawrocki and the opposition for blocking crypto regulation.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Tusk insisted that the government-drafted bill does not result in excessive regulation, as the opposition claims, but rather protects people’s wallets.
The prime minister urged, as reported by Polish Radio and the PAP news agency:
“The time for a Congressional vote to override the President’s veto is approaching.”
Citing information from Poland’s Internal Security Service (ABW), he also revealed that Przemysław Kral had donated to foundations linked to politicians from the Law and Justice (PiS) party and the far-right Union Alliance, and that Zondacrypt had sponsored conservative political conferences.
Meanwhile, Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into suspected fraud at a virtual currency exchange.
Warsaw has until July 1 to adopt a MiCA-inspired cryptocurrency bill. Government spokesman Adam Schwapka said a new parliamentary vote could be held in mid-April.
The federation’s pro-cryptocurrency leader Sławomir Mentzen argued that the early adoption of the controversial law made no difference as Estonian-registered Zonda was exempted from Polish rules until the summer under provisions proposed by the government.
