The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of customer withdrawals being frozen or delayed, the company has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who alleged that Zondacrypto sponsored politicians to oppose crypto market regulation. Tusk claimed that these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests when they blocked the legislation. The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers.
This criticism came after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to address allegations that the company was using investors' funds to supplement its dwindling reserves. 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, former CEO Sylwester Suszek, did not provide the private key before disappearing. Kral revealed the wallet address to counter accusations of misusing client funds, stating that the key was not handed over during the ownership transfer in 2021.
Suszek has been missing for four years. Zondacrypto has faced issues with customer withdrawals since late March, prompting Kral to deny any misuse of client funds and assert that the exchange remains profitable. The situation has been framed as part of a broader campaign against the company, with Kral citing political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage contributing to a surge in withdrawal requests.
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 is long-running, with the company having been placed on Poland's Financial Supervision Authority's public warning list in 2019 for unauthorized financial activities.
An investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, was launched in January 2025 for violating consumer interests. 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 minimal recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and 32 receiving transactions.
The veto vote on the crypto market regulation law resulted in 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, falling short of the required number to overturn the block.