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

The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, the company has come under fire from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who claims that Zondacrypto sponsored 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 attempt to address allegations of misappropriating investor funds, Zondacrypto's 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 denies any misuse of client funds and claims the exchange remains profitable. The situation has sparked a surge in withdrawal requests, with blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris reporting a 99% drop in bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda 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 exchange's former name, on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities. An investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, is currently underway, focusing on alleged violations of consumer interests.