POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Michał Wołoszański, Łukasz Kudela and Marta Solarska-Kaleńczuk, Wołoszański & Partners
1.1.3 Regulation of Blockchain Technology Government and Regulatory Attitude Polish authorities have taken a cautious but not hostile approach to blockchain. The Ministry of Digital Affairs and the KNF have publicly supported the controlled development of DLT solutions for the financial sector, while warning retail investors about the risks of unreg- ulated crypto-asset markets. The political controversy around the MiCA implementing act in 2025–2026 has been about supervisory powers, not about whether to permit blockchain activity. No use case is banned out- right; the only restrictions concern reserved financial activities provided without authorisation. Blockchain Outside the Crypto-Asset Perimeter Where blockchain technology is used outside the crypto-asset perimeter, no dedicated regulatory framework applies. Sector-specific rules apply on a technology-neutral basis. Regulated financial institu- tions outsourcing to or using DLT-enabled solutions remain bound by, in particular, banking-law outsourc- ing provisions, KNF Recommendation D on IT and IT-security risk and, from 17 January 2025, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). Data Protection and the Right to Be Forgotten Data-protection rules apply to blockchain-based products and services in the usual way under the GDPR and the Polish Act on the Protection of Per- sonal Data. The well-known tension between immu- table ledgers and rights to rectification and erasure has not been resolved by Polish law or case law; the data-protection authority (UODO) generally follows the analytical approach of the European Data Protection Board, including on off-chain storage of personal data and the use of hashing and similar privacy-preserving techniques. 1.1.4 Smart Contracts No Dedicated Statutory Regime There is no statutory definition of a “smart contract” under Polish law and no dedicated enforceability regime. Whether a smart contract is legally enforcea- ble is answered by the general rules of the Civil Code. A code-based transaction reflecting the parties’ agree- ment on the essential terms can be a valid contract; declarations of intent may, in principle, be expressed in any form unless a specific form is required. Code-
reporting crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) starting on 1 January 2026. Intellectual Property Blockchain projects have largely fitted within the existing Polish IP framework. Copyright and indus- trial-property law apply on technology-neutral terms. Open questions on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and token trademarks have been addressed using gen- eral IP and unfair-competition principles rather than Poland does not operate a regulatory sandbox in the classical sense – there is no formal regime allowing firms to test innovative products under selective waiv- ers of regulatory requirements. The Polish Financial Supervision Authority ( Komisja Nadzoru Finansowe- go or KNF) does, however, run two complementary instruments aimed at fintech and DLT projects. Innovation Hub Programme dedicated blockchain rules. 1.1.2 Regulatory Sandbox No Classical Regulatory Sandbox The Innovation Hub Programme is a free, structured consultation channel for firms developing innovative financial products. Participation does not exempt firms from any rules; its purpose is to clarify how exist- ing law applies to a novel product or service. It is open to supervised entities, entities seeking KNF authorisa- tion and start-ups. Virtual Sandbox and Sandbox DLT Within the Virtual Sandbox programme, a Sandbox DLT environment based on Hyperledger Fabric has been made available in co-operation with the KDPW. This is a technical testing platform rather than a regu- latory waiver – firms can test DLT applications and integrations in a simulated environment. MiCA and the EU DLT Pilot Regime The Polish MiCA implementing framework does not introduce a crypto-asset sandbox. A separate sand- box-style framework exists at EU level under the DLT Pilot Regime, but it is limited to DLT market infra- structures for tokenised financial instruments rather than crypto-asset services generally. To date, no Pol- ish permission under that regime has been publicly reported.
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