The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. The company is already under fire due to reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, and now it has drawn the ire of Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Tusk alleged in parliament that Zondacrypto had sponsored certain politicians who opposed crypto market regulation, implying that these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests.
This accusation came before a vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law, as reported by AP. Tusk also mentioned that the exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers.
The prime minister's comments followed a statement by Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, who attempted to alleviate concerns that the company was misusing investors' funds to replenish its dwindling reserves. Kral revealed that the exchange 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 stated that he disclosed the wallet address to counter unfounded accusations of fund misappropriation. The key was not handed over by Suszek in 2021 when the ownership of the exchange, then known as BitBay, was transferred, and Kral took over. Suszek has been missing for four years.
Zondacrypto has been dealing with reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals since late March, according to local news reports. Kral denied any misuse of client funds and asserted that the exchange remains profitable. He made the inaccessible wallet public to demonstrate that the exchange has reserves.
Kral framed the situation 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, cited by local news outlets, found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. At one point, Kral threatened legal action against Polish news outlets covering the situation.
The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-running. In 2024, Polish investigative reporting led by broadcaster TVN identified shareholder Marek K., who held a 35% stake, as a criminal sentenced to eight years in prison for complicity in a 1995 gangland murder and fined 45 million zlotys ($12.5 million) for VAT fraud. In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) placed BitBay on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities. In January 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Poland’s consumer protection agency, started an investigation — still in progress — into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, for 'violating the collective interests of consumers,' as reported by Fakt earlier this month.
Kral described reports of the decline in reserves as stemming from a 'fundamental analytical error' by focusing solely on hot wallets. At the time, Zonda was a 'stable, solvent, and secure entity.' Regarding withdrawal delays, he explained that the platform processed tens of thousands of requests in a short period, far above normal levels, which, along with the implementation of new security and transaction monitoring systems, necessitated manual withdrawal verifications.
The wallet presented as proof of reserves following customer demand has seen minimal recent activity, with no outgoing movements and a total of 32 receiving transactions. The vote to overturn Nawrocki’s veto resulted in 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against it, 20 mandates too few to overturn the block, as reported by TVP World.