The President of Poland vetoed the encryption regulation bill, citing "overregulation" as the reason.

On December 2nd, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stepped on the brakes and directly vetoed the “Crypto Asset Market Act,” which had been criticized for being “too broad.” This news caused an uproar in the crypto community—supporters cheered, while the government was left looking pale.

The reason given by the presidential office is quite hardcore: certain provisions of this bill “really threaten the freedom and property of the Polish people, and even national stability.” It sounds quite scary, but upon closer inspection, there are indeed some points to criticize.

First, the bill contains a provision that allows authorities to easily shut down encryption websites. Once this power is given away, who knows if it will be misused? Second, the entire bill is written too complicated, with a bunch of rules piled up, which constitutes excessive regulation. Even worse, the high compliance costs are simply unbearable for small companies, ultimately benefiting foreign giants and traditional banks.

Nawrocki also pointed out a reality: with such strict regulations, why would Polish companies stay and pay taxes? Wouldn't it be better for them to just run off to the Czech Republic, Lithuania, or Malta? Those places are much friendlier towards encryption.