Citizens of Poland prepare to vote for new president this week and Bitcoin enthusiasts can choose between at least three candidates with pro-crypto statements in the record.
The presidential election comes at a time when the country’s crypto community is bracing for new regulations that may chase crypto companies away if adopted as drafted.
State should stay away from crypto, frontrunner says
Poles will be heading to the ballot boxes on Sunday to elect their next president as the second and last term of incumbent Andrzej Duda nears its end. Another round will be held on June 1, if none of the candidates secures at least 50% of the votes on May 18.
While public attention during the campaign has been mostly pinned on topics such as healthcare, housing, defense, and the occasional blunders of politicians, a number of runners have also shared their views on decentralized digital money, Polish crypto media took note.
The leader in the polls, Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski who is backed by the ruling centrist Civic Coalition (KO), was quoted as stating in January that “the whole world” is interested in cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin.pl crypto news portal recalled in an article.
“The state should not interfere with cryptocurrency investments,” he emphasized during a meeting with voters in Jarocin when asked to share his views on the matter. He elaborated that the government “should take care of minimizing risk, not adding additional costs.”
These short statements are not sufficient to fully understand Trzaskowski’s stance on crypto regulations like the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) package, which has been criticized by Polish opposition leaders, the report remarks.
The country’s crypto sector has been grappling with uncertainty as a bill transposing the EU rules into national law is yet to be adopted. Members of the industry fear that provisions, such as one imposing a fee on local crypto exchanges, will force Polish companies to relocate to more favorable jurisdictions.
Far-right candidate promises to ‘free cryptocurrencies’ in Poland
Meanwhile, the nominee of the far-right Confederation Liberty and Independence (Konfederacja) alliance, Sławomir Mentzen, has crypto policy explicitly addressed in his program where he warns about the exodus of crypto firms.
“Cryptocurrencies are being fought in Poland because the state is unable to control them. As a result, companies trying to operate in this modern industry have had to close or leave,” the political platform highlights in a dedicated section titled “liberating cryptocurrencies.”
Mentzen vows to “free up cryptocurrency trading” as president and ensure that Poland has “the most cryptocurrency-friendly law in the entire European Union.” He wants to turn his homeland into a crypto hub and establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
Poland should create a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
If I become the President of Poland, our country will become a cryptocurrency haven, with very friendly regulations, low taxes, and a supportive approach from banks and regulators.
BTC to the Moon! pic.twitter.com/izKc4spkkV
— Sławomir Mentzen (@SlawomirMentzen) November 17, 2024
What’s more, he has also promised to exempt crypto-related gains from taxation. “It’s very easy to avoid the tax on the sale of cryptocurrencies. All you have to do is leave Poland for a country where this tax does not apply, e.g., Germany or Dubai,” he said last year.
Ranking third in the polls ahead of the first round of the presidential vote, Sławomir Mentzen vowed to present a draft law exempting profits from the sale of cryptocurrencies from personal income tax after a one-year holding period.
Monarchist nominee praises God for Bitcoin
If campaign statements are to be taken for granted, another candidate for president of Poland sounds even more bullish on crypto. Grzegorz Braun, the leader of the monarchist Confederation of the Polish Crown (KKP) party, made his stance on cryptocurrencies clear earlier this year.
“God bless Bitcoin. Thanks be to him for cryptocurrencies,” Braun exclaimed in January during a session of the European Parliament, of which he is a member. He went on to describe central banking as a “massive fraud.” However, the far-right nominee has yet to present his concrete ideas for the Polish crypto space in detail.
In Poland, the president has relatively limited powers, Bitcoin.pl notes. These include the right to initiate new legislation but also veto laws passed by the parliament or challenge them in the country’s constitutional court. Members of the Polish crypto community hope that a pro-crypto head of state will, at the very least, veto the proposed cryptocurrency act, which may harm the industry if adopted as is.
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