POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Wojciech Ługowski, Lawarton Lugowski Kapica Spolka Komandytowa
in the financial industry, fostering greater integration of DLT and compliance standards. 10.2 Local Regulators’ Approach to Blockchain Polish regulators are actively shaping the legal frame - work for blockchain and cryptocurrency, with KNF preparing to oversee the crypto-assets market under MiCA. However, Poland has not yet passed a national law implementing MiCA, meaning that no entity cur - rently holds crypto-asset service provider (CASP) sta - tus in Poland and no one has been able to apply for a CASP licence either. The crypto-assets act, adopted by parliament, but vetoed by the president, proposed extensive restric - tions, including a ban on staking and crypto-lending, reflecting ongoing regulatory uncertainty around MiCA implementation in Poland. KNF supports blockchain-based innovation through its Innovation Hub, helping fintechs navigate compli - ance challenges. However, it does not function as a regulatory sandbox, meaning companies must still adhere to existing financial laws. The NBP remains highly sceptical of cryptocurrencies, frequently warning about their volatility and specu - lative nature. Meanwhile, KNF’s 2020 guidelines on crypto-asset trading continue to emphasise high investment risks and the need for investor caution. 10.3 Classification of Blockchain Assets In Poland, the classification of blockchain assets fol - lows MiCA, which directly defines three classes of tokens: e-money tokens, asset-referenced tokens and other tokens (including utility tokens). Since MiCA is directly applicable across the EU, Poland has not introduced additional classification rules. Before MiCA, there were no specific Polish regula - tions defining blockchain asset classifications, and crypto-assets were generally assessed under exist - ing financial and consumer protection laws. To date, there have been no comprehensive official statements from Polish regulators regarding how tokens should be classified beyond the MiCA framework.
In terms of security versus non-security classification, Poland applies EU-wide regulations without national modifications, relying on MiFID II and ESMA guide - lines. Due to the limited number of token issuances in Poland before MiCA, there is no well-established regulatory practice in this area. As a result, assess - ments are made on a case-by-case basis. 10.4 Regulation of “Issuers” of Blockchain Assets Under MiCA, “issuers” of crypto-assets must publish a white paper outlining key details about the asset, issuer and risks. It must be submitted to KNF, although formal approval is only required for asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens, which also face addi - tional capital and governance requirements. In Poland, the regulatory regime for crypto-asset issu - ers derives directly from MiCA, which is fully applica - ble at the EU level. However, the absence of adopted national implementing legislation – following the presi - dential veto of the crypto-assets act passed by parlia - ment – has created practical uncertainty as to super - visory procedures and local enforcement, including the role of KNF in the formal review of white papers. Non-compliance with MiCA can result in severe administrative sanctions, including fines, operational bans and restrictions on business activities. Addition - ally, CASPs such as exchanges and wallet providers must obtain authorisation and comply with AML/CFT regulations. Tokenisation of real-world assets (RWA) is an emerg - ing area of the Polish fintech market, driven by inter - est in fractionalisation and broader investor access to traditionally illiquid assets. In practice, however, many RWA structures face legal constraints linked to formal transfer requirements under Polish law and the legal character of the tokenised rights; where tokens rep - resent transferable securities or other financial instru - ments (eg, tokenised shares or bonds), such projects typically fall within the scope of MiFID II. Additional uncertainty stems from the absence of adopted national MiCA-related legislation.
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