📣 Poland to Authorize Crypto Account Freezing Powers

posted  12 Mar 2024
Photo - Poland to Authorize Crypto Account Freezing Powers
Poland's financial watchdog, the Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego (KNF), is poised to gain the authority to temporarily freeze cryptocurrency account holders' assets.

The KNF will have the capability to block accounts for a period of up to 4 days should regulators find any transactions suspicious. With the prosecutor's office's permission, this period could be extended up to 6 months.

With KNF's historical approach towards cryptocurrency being less than favorable, there's a growing fear within the Polish crypto community of potential overreach.
Given the aversion that the KNF has shown towards cryptocurrencies so far, the ability to preemptively block accounts based on mere suspicions may, unfortunately, be excessively used and abused,
commented Arkadiusz Jóźwiak, a cryptocurrency trader, analyst, and Editor-in-Chief of the financial portal Comparic.
This move precedes the anticipated MiCA (Markets in Crypto Assets) regulation by the EU, aimed at standardizing crypto regulations across Europe. Although the Polish legislation seeks to comply with broader EU directives, the specific measure of account freezes represents a distinct, local endeavor not covered under MiCA's provisions.

Efforts to frame specific cryptocurrency market regulations in Poland have been underway since 2020, but to date, legislative measures have primarily focused on taxation aspects of virtual assets.