A draft bill on cryptoassets has been published on the website of the government legislative center. This 63-page document contains many provisions and surprising solutions that will be analyzed by the entire cryptocurrency community in the coming weeks. The most important news is the fact that, according to the draft act on cryptoassets, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority will supervise the digital assets market.
Draft act on cryptoassets – what do we know at the moment?
The Polish government has decided to take on the digital asset industry. The prepared draft act on cryptoassets has been published on the website of the government legislation center. The project envisages the introduction of new solutions in the crypto-asset market sector. The main goal of the regulations is effective supervision of the sector and investor protection. One of the most important information resulting from this project is the fact that supervision of the crypto-asset market will be assigned to the Financial Supervision Authority.
According to the justification, the aim of the project is to implement the regulation of the European Parliament and the European Council on the MiCA (Markets in Crypto-assets) regulation. This digital finance package was proposed in September 2020 and after nearly four years of legislative process, the law enters into force this year.
The Polish Financial Supervision Authority is to be given specific powers
On the Gov website and in the draft act, we can read that the Polish Financial Supervision Authority is to supervise the crypto-asset market. To make this happen, appropriate tools will be introduced to ensure the effective performance of supervision by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority and the implementation of the provisions of the regulation in question.
To put it simply, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority will be able to order the suspension of the public offering of cryptoassets, interrupt it for a specified period of time, prohibit the commencement of such an offering, or prohibit cryptoassets altogether. It is worth adding that according to the draft act, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority will be able to impose sanctions on those offering cryptoassets, issuers or persons applying for admission to cryptoassets. Financial penalties are also provided for people professionally involved in the cryptocurrency market.
Greater trading security through the introduction of criminal liability
Another important detail introduced by the draft act on cryptoassets is the criminal liability of supervised entities. The severity of punitive measures will depend on the degree of offense and will be closely related to the type of act being criminalized. The bill provides for penalties in the form of a fine, arrest and imprisonment.
The solution is intended to ensure trading security, especially for consumers, and to protect the state and investors.
The new regulations are also to cover the establishment of rules regarding professional secrecy covering information obtained in connection with the provision of crypto-asset services.
Polish VAPS will be able to continue operating under current regulations until the end of 2025
Very important from the point of view of the Polish cryptocurrency community is the fact that Polish VAPS will be able to continue operating on the basis of current regulations until the end of 2025. It is worth adding that the use of the benefits of this transitional period will be extremely subject to detailed conditions that have not been provided for by the EU legislator.
A good example of this is the fact that the transitional period will end for VASPA when it fails to submit a quarterly report to the GIFI (General Inspector of Financial Information) twice. The transition period will therefore require VASPs to be extremely vigilant so as not to lose the benefits resulting from the changing regulations.
How did the Polish cryptocurrency community accept the draft act on cryptoassets?
The draft act on cryptoassets appeared on social media on Friday, February 23, and the Polish cryptocurrency community quickly began to read and comment on the new regulations. According to crypto-experts, the project contains more sanctions than regulations. The shape of the act is to be influenced by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority's approach to cryptoassets, which sees no innovation in cryptocurrencies, only risk.
Internet users also point out the rather confusing and sometimes incorrect nomenclature of the draft act, as on the second page of the justification there is the concept of “tokens related to cryptoassets”. The draft act on cryptoassets is to enter into force on June 30, 2024, however, some of the provisions are to come into force only on December 30, 2024. Moreover, some of the provisions of the act are to enter into force on a different date.
