MiCA in Poland – update August 2024
Recently, changes were published to the draft of law on crypto assets in Poland, which implements MiCA. Our Law Firm in Poland reviewed this draft law few months ago and published article. The fresh version of the act introduces important shifts that could impact existing VASPs in Poland and their ability to operate under the new regulatory framework.
What’s new for current VASPs?
Under the original draft, VASPs registered in Polish register of the activity in scope of virtual currencies (VASP Register) by the end of 2024 were granted the right to continue their operations until the end of 2025. However, the revised draft has shortened this grace period by six months, moving the deadline up to June 30, 2025. At first glance, this might seem like bad news for current VASPs.
But there’s a crucial update: the new draft law includes a beneficial provision to VASPs. It stipulates that already registered VASP can continue its operations after June 30, 2025, if it submits a complete application for a new Crypto Asset Service Provide license before May 1, 2025.
Separate cash account
The new project of Polish Crypto Assets presented also new significant obligation. The Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) will be required to maintain a cash account where funds entrusted by clients are recorded, which was used for settlements of crypto transactions. According to the proposed regulation, funds entrusted by clients must be deposited by the CASP in a credit institution or central bank, and CASP must ensure that these funds are kept in an account that is distinguishable from any other accounts used for storing the provider’s own funds. The cash account maintained by the provider is to be used for recording transactions related to the investor’s activity in the crypto-assets market. The cash account is exclusively for servicing the crypto-assets account. In certain cases, the crypto-asset service provider may need to transfer the client’s crypto-assets to their own crypto-assets account to carry out a transaction on behalf of the client. In such a situation, it is necessary to protect the client’s crypto-assets from enforcement actions against the provider or the provider’s bankruptcy.
As always, our Law Firm in Poland will keep you updated on further developments in regard of implementation of MiCA in Poland.
It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on the MiCA and CASP licensing, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks