The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, the company has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who alleged that Zondacrypto sponsored politicians to block crypto market regulation. Tusk made these comments before a parliamentary vote on overturning President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law.
The exchange has connections to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers. In response to allegations that the company was using investor funds to replenish its dwindling reserves, Zondacrypto's CEO Przemysław Kral stated that the exchange has sufficient reserves and owns a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million.
However, the company is unable to access these funds because the previous owner failed to provide the private key and is now missing. Kral revealed the wallet address to address accusations of misappropriating funds, which he denies. The key was not handed over by former CEO Sylwester Suszek in 2021 when ownership of the exchange changed, and Suszek has been missing for four years.
Zondacrypto has faced issues with frozen or delayed customer withdrawals since late March, according to local news reports. Kral claims the exchange remains profitable and that the situation is part of a broader campaign against the company, citing political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage that led to a surge in withdrawal requests.
An analysis by blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have decreased by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-standing, with Polish investigative reporting in 2024 identifying a shareholder with a criminal record. In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities.
An investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, for violating consumer interests is ongoing. Kral has attributed reports of declining reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' and stated that the platform is stable, solvent, and secure.
The presented wallet has seen little recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and 32 receiving transactions. The veto vote resulted in 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, failing to overturn the block.