The troubles for 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 who opposed cryptocurrency market regulation. Tusk claimed that these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests when they blocked the legislation.
The prime minister's comments came before a vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law. Zondacrypto has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers.
In an attempt to address allegations that the company was using investors' funds to boost its dwindling 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 because the previous owner, former CEO Sylwester Suszek, did not hand over the private key and has been missing since 2021. Kral denied any misuse of client funds and stated that the exchange remains profitable.
He made the wallet's address public to demonstrate that the exchange has reserves. The situation has been framed by Kral as part of a broader campaign against the company, citing supposed 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 dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-running, with Polish investigative reporting in 2024 identifying a shareholder with a criminal past.
In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay, Zondacrypto's predecessor, on its public warning list 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 wallet presented as proof of reserves has seen minimal recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and only 32 receiving transactions. The vote to overturn President Nawrocki's veto ultimately failed, with 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, 20 mandates short of the required number to overturn the block.