President Karol Nawrocki of Poland has refused to sign a bill that he believed would have imposed overly strict regulations on the cryptocurrency market.
The president vetoed the provisions of the bill on the grounds that they “pose a real threat to the freedom of Poles, their property and the stability of the state,” according to an update on his website on Monday.
The Cryptoasset Market Act was Poland’s legislation to bring it into line with the European Union’s (EU) Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, which is the bloc’s framework for establishing a common rulebook for overseeing the crypto industry.
President Narwocki was concerned that the law would allow the government to disable crypto companies’ websites “with a single click” and that the domain blocking regulation lacked transparency and was open to abuse.
The act would also risk pushing companies abroad to Poland’s neighbors such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia by being far too long and complex. While similar acts in those countries are only a dozen pages long, Poland’s proposed law had over 100. Moreover, the regulatory fees would favor companies and banks at the expense of startups, which would be prevented from developing, according to the president.
“Over-regulation is a sure way to push companies abroad instead of creating the conditions for them to earn and pay taxes in Poland,” the update states.
Nawrocki, who was elected in June this year, ran as an independent candidate but was supported by the country’s right-wing Law and Justice party, which is currently the opposition to the coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Poland’s semi-presidential system of government means that the president does not have the same executive power as the president has in e.g. USA. The veto power is one of the most significant tools the president can use. A veto can then only be overturned by a three-fifths majority in the Sejm, Poland’s parliament.
