Polish PM pushes for crypto regulation after exchange collapse
Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said the government will make yet another attempt at regulating the cryptocurrency market after Poland's biggest crypto exchange went bankrupt, but may face another veto from the right wing president, Karol Nawrocki.
"A draft cryptocurrency law will return by the end of this week," Tusk said on Tuesday.
Nawrocki vetoed two previous bills aimed at introducing financial watchdog oversight over the crypto market, citing concerns over "excessive regulation."
But in April a scandal concerning Zondacrypto, Poland's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, caused widespread outrage in the country as tens of thousands of investors lost at least PLN 350 million (EUR mln) in total and the company ultimately went bankrupt.
Tusk said the only difference in the latest draft compared to the two the previous bills would be harsher penalties for fraudsters.
"The only change I will be proposing to this bill is to make the penalties even stricter for those who, by exploiting people's dreams, sometimes their naivety, sometimes their lack of knowledge, defraud them and also jeopardise the Polish state and our security, while defrauding those people who wish to invest their savings," Tusk said.
However, it is yet unclear whether the Zondacrypto collapse will soften the president's opposition to stronger regulation of the crypto market. (PAP)
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