06-19-2026 
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The third time is not the charm for Poland’s crypto bill, as it once again suffered a setback after President Karol Nawrocki blocked its passage, leaving the country the only European Union member state without a domestic framework that aligns with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk voiced his dismay in an X post last week, stressing his disbelief over the veto while indicating that the president is more deeply involved in the complexities of the issue than previously understood.
Tusk has been actively advocating for the regulation of the digital asset market in an effort to align Poland with the MiCA framework before its July 1 deadline. Should Poland fail to pass a law by July 1, it will lose the right to provide digital asset-related services domestically.
In mid-May, Poland’s lower house adopted Bill No.2529 amid mounting pressure to meet the EU’s implementation timeline and the snowballing Zondacrypto exchange scandal, which is believed to involve Russian-linked financing.
This proposed crypto bill underwent a series of revisions in recent months, but President Nawrocki claimed the amendments failed to address concerns that were previously raised by his office, leading him to reject it for the third time.
Despite the veto, Nawrocki said he is not opposed to regulating the digital asset ecosystem amid concerns about civil liberties and the risk of stifling innovation.
“I support regulating this market. I support consumer protection, but it must be done effectively,” Nawrocki said, as quoted by Reuters. “The bill will be signed into law if it is amended.”
Nepal’s crypto frenzy sparks IMF warning
While Poland’s crypto market is under pressure, Nepal’s financial stability is at risk after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flagged the country’s growing crypto adoption amid a legal ban in place since 2021.
Data from the IMF’s 2026 Article IV Consultation, cited by Decrypt in a report, shows that Nepal’s crypto inflows were registered at $2.6 billion in 2021, surpassing 13% of its gross domestic product (GDP). While crypto transactions declined to roughly 4% of GDP by 2023, they skyrocketed to 8% in 2024, with the IMF noting that stablecoins accounted for a larger and growing share.“Flows of stablecoins and unbacked crypto assets grew markedly between 2019 and 2024, although adoption remains modest relative to peers, despite legal prohibition on crypto transactions,” the IMF stated in its Executive Board.
The fluctuating crypto inflows signal that illegal crypto activities are still proliferating in the country and that the blanket crypto ban is no longer sufficient to protect Nepal’s financial stability and ensure consumer protection.
The IMF urged the Nepalese government to adopt regulations aligned with international standards and to complete the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, which would help the country effectively combat money laundering and terrorist financing—crimes that are now common in the crypto ecosystem—and eventually exit the grey list and safeguard its economic integrity.
Watch: Breaking down solutions to blockchain regulation hurdles
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