President Karol Nawrocki has declined to sign legislation that would grant Poland's Financial Supervision Authority power to issue MiCA licenses to crypto firms. The refusal leaves Poland as the only EU member state without a legal route for domestically-registered companies to gain regulatory approval under the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, which came into force across the bloc in December 2023.
MiCA requires all crypto service providers operating in the EU to hold a license from their home country's regulator. Each member state had until late 2024 to establish its own authorization framework. Poland's parliament passed enabling legislation, but Nawrocki—who took office in August 2025—has blocked it from becoming law by refusing to sign.
The stalemate creates an immediate practical problem for Polish founders. Companies cannot legally operate crypto services from Poland without a license. Since their own country offers no path to one, firms must register subsidiaries in other EU states and seek approval from foreign regulators instead. This forces a choice between abandoning the Polish market or paying the compliance and administrative cost of operating through a legal entity abroad.
Nawrocki's stated concerns center on the regulator's discretionary powers under the draft law. The Financial Supervision Authority would have broad authority to approve or reject applications based on criteria including the applicant's financial stability, governance structure, and operational controls. He has not publicly detailed which provisions trouble him, though his office signaled willingness to engage on revisions.
The blockade amounts to a quiet form of regulatory resistance. Poland's parliament, which passed the law with support across factions, retains the formal power to override a presidential veto with a three-fifths supermajority. No motion to do so has been filed. Opposition lawmakers and industry groups have called for override votes, but the ruling coalition has not prioritized it.
Other EU member states completed their MiCA frameworks within months of the regulation's effective date. Some regulators—including those in Spain, France, and the Netherlands—issued their first licenses by mid-2024. Poland's absence from that list means any company wanting to serve Polish customers must now anchor its legal status elsewhere in the bloc, a friction that smaller or less-capitalized startups may find hard to absorb.
Nawrocki's veto has no expiration. A new presidential administration or a shift in parliamentary priorities could move toward override, but there is no scheduled trigger for either. The result is indefinite paralysis: crypto firms cannot get permission to operate from Poland, and Poland's regulators cannot grant it.