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 alleged in parliament that Zondacrypto had sponsored politicians opposed to crypto market regulation.
Tusk claimed that these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests by blocking the legislation, and he pointed out that Zondacrypto has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers. This criticism came a day after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to address allegations that the company was using investors' funds to bolster 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, he admitted that the company cannot access these funds because the previous owner, former CEO Sylwester Suszek, did not hand over the private key before disappearing in 2021.
Kral revealed the wallet address in an effort to dispel accusations of misusing client funds, emphasizing that the exchange remains profitable. The situation has sparked a heated debate, with some analyzing it as part of a broader campaign against the company, involving political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage that has led to a surge in withdrawal requests. Blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets linked to Zonda have dropped by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is not new, with past investigations uncovering ties to criminal activity and unauthorized financial operations.
In 2024, an investigative report identified a shareholder with a criminal record, and in 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay, Zondacrypto's predecessor, on its public warning list. An ongoing investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, for violating consumer interests, further complicates the situation. Kral has defended the company, attributing reports of declining reserves to analytical errors and explaining withdrawal delays as a result of high volumes and the implementation of new security measures. Despite these efforts, the wallet presented as proof of reserves has shown minimal recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and only 32 receiving transactions.
The veto vote on the crypto regulation law, which was not overturned due to insufficient votes, adds another layer to the complex situation surrounding Zondacrypto and its operations in Poland.