Poland deadlock blocks domestic MiCA licenses, EU rivals enter

Poland’s Sejm on Sept. 4 failed to override President Karol Nawrocki’s June 11 veto of legislation needed to implement parts of the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation. Lawmakers recorded 241 votes to re-enact the bill, 198 against and three abstentions, short of the threshold required to overturn the veto.

Because the statute was not re-enacted, Poland has not designated a national authority to process ordinary MiCA licence applications. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority’s office has said authorization proceedings cannot start until that designation is made in law.

The MiCA transition period ended on July 1. Regulators and tax authorities have said entries on Poland’s previous virtual-currency activity register no longer provide legal authorization to operate. The Katowice Tax Administration Chamber confirmed that the old register does not constitute a basis to continue services, and Polish regulators have stated that neither domestic administrative decisions nor existing national rules can extend the MiCA transition.

MiCA’s cross-border passport remains available to firms authorized in other EU member states. Under the regulation, an authorized crypto-asset service provider notifies its home regulator of the member states and services it intends to cover and can begin cross-border activity once that notification has been transmitted or any applicable waiting period has passed. Polish authorities have confirmed that EU-authorized providers retain that route into the market.

The passport follows the entity that holds the authorization rather than the nationality of owners. A Polish crypto group can continue serving customers in Poland if an affiliate obtains MiCA authorization in another EU state and completes the cross-border notification. Companies relying only on their old Polish registration cannot use that route and therefore must suspend services or seek authorization elsewhere.

Restoring domestic licensing requires parliamentary action. Lawmakers must pass a bill that designates a competent national authority to handle MiCA applications; until that happens, Polish applicants cannot begin the ordinary authorization process and can either pause operations or pursue MiCA authorization in another EU capital to resume serving Polish customers.