The troubles facing 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 alleges that Zondacrypto sponsored politicians to block crypto market regulation. Tusk's comments came before a parliamentary vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law.
The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers. In response to allegations of misappropriating investor funds, Zondacrypto CEO Przemysław Kral revealed that the exchange owns a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million. However, the exchange is unable to access these funds due to a missing private key, which was not handed over by the former CEO, Sylwester Suszek, in 2021. Kral claims that the exchange has sufficient reserves and remains profitable, but the situation has sparked 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 has been ongoing, with the company facing investigations and warnings from regulatory authorities in the past. In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay, Zondacrypto's predecessor, on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is currently investigating Zonda's owner, BB Trade Estonia, for violating consumer interests. Kral has denied any wrongdoing and attributed the decline in reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' by focusing solely on hot wallets. The situation has led to a heated debate, with some lawmakers calling for increased regulation of the cryptocurrency market.