Poland became the only European Union member state without a functioning MiCA licensing regime on Wednesday, leaving about 2,000 registered crypto firms unable to obtain domestic authorization after President Karol Nawrocki vetoed the implementing legislation for a third time.
"No Polish public authority has been designated as the competent authority for supervision of activities covered by the MiCA Regulation, with the exception of issuers of electronic money tokens," Jacek Barszczewski, a spokesman for Poland's Financial Supervision Authority, said.
The EU had issued 244 MiCA licenses as of June 29, according to ESMA register data, with Germany leading at 57 and France at 26. Together, the two countries account for more than one-third of all approved licenses. Poland, by contrast, has issued zero, leaving its roughly 2,000 registered virtual asset service providers without a domestic pathway to compliance. Five other EU states — Greece, Hungary, Portugal, and Romania — also have not issued any licenses, though they have designated competent authorities under the framework.
Polish firms must now seek MiCA authorization in other EU jurisdictions — such as Lithuania, Latvia or Germany — or cease offering regulated services across the bloc. A MiCA license issued in any EU country grants passporting rights across all 27 member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
"The business simply moves somewhere else," Wojciech Kaszycki, chief strategy officer of Warsaw-based fintech BTCS, said. "None of the Polish companies can receive the authorization in Poland."
Nawrocki rejected the law for a third time on June 11, arguing it gives regulators excessive powers, including the ability to block crypto company websites and freeze customer funds for months before firms have exhausted legal appeals. The draft, which passed both houses of parliament, also allows Poland's Financial Supervision Authority to impose rules that could push businesses abroad, he said.
Kaszycki said he agreed that parts of the law went beyond MiCA itself, particularly the provisions allowing the KNF to freeze assets and block websites without a completed appeals process.
"It will change the business landscape of crypto entities a lot," Mateusz Kara, CEO of Morphic Financial Group, said. "For example, in Poland, we have around 2,000 VASP entities. As far as I know, we are the only ones that have a MiCA license right now. So, I think you can imagine how many entities will need to shut down the business starting from the second half of this year."
Despite the political deadlock, Kaszycki said he supports MiCA because Europe needs a common crypto rulebook.
"It is a good beginning," he said. "But it needs to be improved."
The current framework exerts excessive pressure on startups while making it easier for larger companies to cover compliance costs, he said, calling for a regulatory sandbox that would allow smaller firms to test products before meeting MiCA's full requirements. European regulators are already speaking with the market about refinements, he added.
The Polish standoff creates a regulatory arbitrage dynamic within the EU, with crypto capital expected to flow toward Germany, Lithuania and Latvia — jurisdictions that have operational licensing systems. For Poland's roughly 2,000 VASPs, the July 1 deadline means many face an immediate choice between relocating or shutting down, a structural blow to a sector that had grown under the country's previous registration-based regime.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
