The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto have intensified. 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 made the comments before a vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law, stating that the exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers. In response to allegations that the company was using investors' funds to boost its declining reserves, 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 as the previous owner, former CEO Sylwester Suszek, did not hand over the private key and has been missing for four years. Kral denied any misuse of client funds and claimed that the exchange remains profitable, attributing the situation to a broader campaign against the company, including political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage. 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 an effort to address the situation, Kral has threatened legal action against Polish news outlets and pointed to supposed analytical errors in reports of the company's declining reserves. The wallet presented as proof of reserves has seen little recent activity, with no outgoing movements and only 32 receiving transactions.
The situation has sparked a heated debate, with 191 MPs voting in favor of Nawrocki's veto and 243 against it, falling short of the required number to overturn the block.