Countries that take a pragmatic approach to cryptocurrencies gain a lasting competitive advantage. Poland could become Central and Eastern Europe’s leader in crypto regulation — provided several conditions are met and over-regulation is avoided.
More Poles hold accounts on crypto trading platforms than have brokerage accounts. According to a 2025 UCE Research report, 18.4% of Poles invest in crypto. These are relatively young investors: 34% are 25–34, 31% are 35–44, 20% are 18–24, and only 15% are over 45.
That implies roughly 5.6 million adult Poles have experience with cryptocurrencies. For comparison, in the U.S. more people hold Bitcoin (~50 million) than gold (~37 million, per river.com).
Poland already boasts a strong fintech sector, with innovations such as BLIK mobile payments and the pioneering mobile bank mBank — a technological foundation for crypto services. Yet Polish entrepreneur Krzysztof Marszałek founded crypto.com, one of the world’s largest exchanges, in Hong Kong (now headquartered in Singapore) — drawn by an exceptionally friendly fintech regulatory environment.
Unless Poland prioritizes entrepreneurship and growth over excessive rules, more Polish founders will build global companies abroad. Poland has a chance to be an early adopter of Bitcoin at the state level and to lead development of the ecosystem around it.
Countries that proactively embrace financial innovation gain long-term advantages in the digital economy. A pragmatic crypto stance is a competitive lever. Poland can lead CEE crypto regulation by pursuing the following:
1) Scrap the “Belka Tax” for long-term (>2 years) crypto holdings
Today, crypto gains in Poland face a 19% capital gains tax. In 2025, the Finance Ministry stated that full repeal of PIT on capital gains is not under consideration.
Bitcoin, however, should be treated as a digital currency, not a security. As with FX transactions, Bitcoin exchanges should be exempt from capital gains tax. A holding-period exemption (e.g., after two years) would encourage long-term investment over speculation — particularly for a highly liquid asset like Bitcoin. Removing the Belka Tax would also support private capital markets (PE/VC). Examples: Slovakia introduced a 7% rate for assets held over a year (2024), while Portugal fully exempts crypto held over 12 months.
2) Allow the NBP to hold Bitcoin within central bank reserves
The National Bank of Poland (NBP) should consider allocating a portion of FX reserves to Bitcoin — building a BTC reserve over 3–5 years based on risk analysis, akin to gold accumulation in the U.S. model. As of 2024, gold accounted for 13.2% of NBP reserves; Bitcoin could complement diversification.
Why Bitcoin in NBP reserves?
- Strategic diversification of reserve assets.
- No counterparty risk and no credit risk; cryptographic properties underpin security and durability.
- Independence from legacy financial systems; potential for long-term appreciation, especially under expansive monetary policy and fiat debasement.
- As a protocol (like TCP/IP), Bitcoin enables programmable money and direct value transfer without intermediaries — offering unique operational utility vs. traditional reserve assets.
- Holding BTC would boost Poland’s credibility as an innovative financial hub and position the NBP as a modern central bank.
Pro-innovation MoF & KNF rules to unlock tokenization and crypto services
Near-term Belka-tax revenue losses could be offset by growth in crypto, technology, and finance, ultimately lifting:
- CIT (19%) from fintechs and financial institutions,
- VAT (23%) on crypto services,
- PIT (17–32%) from fintech employment,
- CIT from adjacent sectors (notably services) scaling in Poland.
The KNF (Financial Supervision Authority) would license crypto service providers (in Singapore/Hong Kong fashion). Illustrative requirements for trading venues:
- Minimum own capital: PLN 5 million,
- Segregation of client assets,
- Strong cybersecurity,
- Transaction reporting above PLN 15,000.
Token issuance rules are equally crucial. Poland should create a safe harbor for token issuers to incorporate locally and issue tokens in a clear, predictable regime — conditional on, e.g., annual project reports until full network decentralization (as with Bitcoin).
Example policy moves:
- Token issuance rules that favor decentralized projects with preferential tax treatment, making Poland attractive to founders and developers.
- Regulations ensuring banks cannot unilaterally de-bank compliant crypto startups.
- Launch an initiative for a digital złoty stablecoin backed by reserves in Bitcoin and Ethereum — the highest-security, highest-liquidity crypto assets.
Transparency and quality standards, not deterrence, are the right approach to technologies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Such rules would attract both companies and developers to Poland.
Avoid “gold-plating” in the crypto markets bill
Work is underway on a Polish crypto markets act. It is essential to avoid over-implementation (gold-plating) beyond EU MiCA. The current draft is more restrictive than required.
Employer and business organizations in the SprawdzaMy deregulatory initiative strongly urge stepping back from gold-plating. Their May 2025 report, “Gold-plating and over-regulation in implementing EU law into Poland’s legal order” (SprawdzaMy, DZP, Fundacja Wsparcia Przedsiębiorczej), identified excessive requirements in areas such as:
- Domestic rules on client interactions and technical standards,
- Disclosure obligations for tokens,
- Redemption and recovery plan approvals and updates,
- Transition periods,
- Disproportionate criminal sanctions.
Author: Robert Kowalski
Member of the Polish Economic Society; co-founder of Gyfted. Entrepreneur with Bitcoin industry experience in Silicon Valley and at Stanford University.
Source: CEO.com.pl – “Bitcoin instead of gold? Poland should include cryptocurrencies in NBP strategy”
