Poland's Prime Minister Accuses Zondacrypto of Influencing Legislation Amidst Withdrawal Delays

The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, the company has drawn the ire of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who accused it of sponsoring politicians who opposed crypto market regulation. Tusk's comments came before a parliamentary vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law. The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers, according to Tusk. In an effort to address allegations that the company was misusing investor funds, Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral revealed that the exchange owns a bitcoin wallet holding approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million. However, the company is unable to access the funds due to a missing private key, which was not handed over by the previous CEO, Sylwester Suszek, in 2021. Suszek has been missing for four years. Kral denied any misuse of client funds and claimed that the exchange remains profitable. The situation has sparked a surge in withdrawal requests, with some customers reporting frozen or delayed withdrawals since late March. An analysis by blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto has been ongoing, with the company facing investigations and warnings from regulatory authorities in the past. In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay, the company's previous name, on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities. In 2024, an investigative report identified a shareholder with a criminal record, and in 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection launched an investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, for violating consumer interests.