According to Custom Market Insights, the global blockchain technology market will reach around $33.5 billion in 2025 and grow by more than 57% annually over the next decade, surpassing $3.1 trillion by 2034, as outlined in the report “Global Blockchain Technology Market 2025–2034”. In Poland, awareness of blockchain is relatively high, but industry experts argue that there is a lack of information campaigns showing its potential. For now, the technology is most often discussed in the context of cryptocurrency investment risks. Another barrier to development could be overly restrictive regulation.
Blockchain is a technology that enables data to be stored securely and transparently. Information is stored in blocks, validated by multiple participants (so-called nodes), and added to the chain. The resulting chain of blocks is immutable, ensuring the safety and credibility of the data, which is encrypted and difficult to alter without the consent of most network participants. Blockchain is widely used in the cryptocurrency market, allowing secure financial transactions without intermediaries such as banks.
“Poland actively promotes blockchain technology by organizing developer meetings and various events dedicated to this field. I think we already have significant awareness, and more and more people are getting involved in creating solutions of this kind. I can see it even among my students,” said Arkadiusz Iwanicki, assistant at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology, University of Łódź, in an interview with Newseria.
In his view, blockchain has the potential to revolutionize many sectors, especially public administration.
“There is now a blockchain trend toward creating digital identities, and this can revolutionize IT. Everything we have had on the internet so far has been fleeting, but blockchain is permanent. An online identity built on blockchain could be revolutionary, as for the first time we have the possibility of unambiguous identification using only this technology—without biometrics or similar add-ons,” Iwanicki explained.
The 2022 report “Blockchain in Poland. Version 2.0”, prepared by the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications (PIIT) with partners, highlighted the benefits of blockchain in Poland. Solutions based on blockchain are already present in sectors such as banking, insurance, energy, and public services. They enable faster and easier interbank transactions, reliable publishing and attribution of documents, as well as additional applications like transmitting payment-related documents or linking transactions with currency exchange.
Still, Iwanicki notes that in most countries, blockchain communication is dominated by cryptocurrencies—particularly the investment risks they carry. As an example, he points to the 2017 campaign “Beware of Cryptocurrencies” run by the National Bank of Poland and the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), which aimed to warn consumers about risks associated with investing in virtual currencies like bitcoin, litecoin, or ether. At the same time, these institutions emphasized that they were not opposed to the development of blockchain as a technology independent of cryptocurrencies, with potential applications in electronic databases, industry, services, and finance.
“I would much rather see a campaign that highlights the possibilities of blockchain technology. Of course, it can still warn about speculative risks, but it should primarily focus on what blockchain can change and improve in our lives. We need to emphasize the technology itself, not just the speculation tied to it,” Iwanicki argued.
The expert also noted that while legal regulations for blockchain are necessary, they may pose challenges for developers.
“Regulations can sometimes harm technology,” Iwanicki warned. “We now have many EU-wide regulations concerning cryptocurrencies under the collective name MiCA, and while I believe it’s good these frameworks are being created, I worry they might slow down blockchain’s development from the perspective of developers. Consumer protection is necessary, but I would like these regulations not to be overly burdensome for those creating this technology.”
In June 2024, the Polish Council of Ministers adopted a draft law on the crypto-assets market, aligning Polish legislation with EU regulations under MiCA. The new law aims to ensure the safety of crypto-asset trading and related services by eliminating abuses against consumers and investors. Oversight will be handled by the Financial Supervision Authority. The law introduces criminal liability for offenses such as market manipulation. It also clarifies the obligations of issuers of asset-linked tokens, e-money tokens, and crypto-asset service providers. According to the government, crypto-assets are digital representations of value (e.g., money) or rights that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology such as blockchain.
