POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Michał Wołoszański, Łukasz Kudela and Marta Solarska-Kaleńczuk, Wołoszański & Partners
3. Licensing and Set-Up Requirements 3.1 Licensing Requirements Parallel Regulatory Gateways Two parallel regulatory gateways are relevant. Under MiCA, any person providing one or more crypto-asset services in the EU on a professional basis must gen- erally be authorised as a CASP, unless it falls within one of the limited exemptions, benefits from the tran- sitional regime or is otherwise permitted to provide certain crypto-asset services under MiCA without a separate CASP authorisation. Separate authorisation is required for issuing ARTs, while EMTs may be issued only by authorised credit institutions and electronic- money institutions. Under the Polish AML Act, busi- ness activity in virtual currencies has been treated as a regulated activity requiring entry in the Register of Activity in the Field of Virtual Currencies. Following the application of MiCA, that register is primarily relevant to the transitional position of existing Polish VASPs, while the AML/CFT obligations themselves continue to apply to CASPs. Territorial Scope and Third-Country Firms MiCA applies on a single-market basis. A firm provid- ing crypto-asset services in the EU must be author- ised in one member state and may, by way of notifi- cation, provide services in other member states. The home member state is generally linked to the place where the applicant has its registered office and effec- tive management. A firm materially targeting Polish clients without authorisation in any member state will be in breach of MiCA and exposed to enforcement in Poland. Third-country firms may provide services to EU clients only where the service is provided at the client’s own exclusive initiative; ESMA interprets this reverse-solicitation exemption narrowly. Where a non- EU entity is effectively managed from Poland or uses Polish-based management and infrastructure to ser- vice EU clients, this may point to a need to establish an authorised EU entity and obtain a MiCA authorisa- tion, rather than relying on a third-country structure. Transitional Regime The MiCA transitional regime allows entities that were lawfully providing crypto-asset services under nation- al law before 30 December 2024 to continue doing so until 1 July 2026 or until they receive, or are refused,
administrative and criminal sanctions for unauthorised crypto-asset activity, breaches of MiCA obligations and obstruction of supervision. It would also give KNF additional supervisory tools, including powers relating to public warnings, temporary restrictions on activ- ity and domains used for activity in breach of MiCA. These powers, particularly domain-blocking and account-blocking mechanisms, have been among the central controversies of the legislative process and are likely to be closely scrutinised in practice. However, the final content of the Polish implementing legislation remains uncertain, as the President has once again exercised his veto and refused to sign the bill into law. The specific calibration of these sanctions and pow- ers may change as the legislative process continues. As of now, in response to the continuing legislative deadlock, a group of members of parliament from the governing coalition have studied their own bill. The proposal is based on the government’s draft legisla- tion but has been revised to address the President’s objections. The bill was submitted to the Sejm on 18 June 2026. However, the Sejm has not yet com- menced its consideration. The authors of the bill have announced that they will seek to have it considered under an expedited legislative procedure. Cross-Border Enforcement and Outlook Cross-border enforcement is supported by the MiCA co-operation framework, EU supervisory chan- nels involving the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), European Banking Authority (EBA) and, in the AML area, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), and by mutual-legal-assistance and information-exchange mechanisms in criminal and tax matters. Once the implementing act enters into force, KNF is expected to move from a transitional posture to active supervision and enforcement. Until then, the Polish framework remains predominantly AML/CFT- and tax-focused, complemented by criminal enforce- ment in cases involving fraud, money laundering or other general offences.
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