The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of frozen or delayed customer withdrawals, the company has drawn the ire of 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 legislation. The exchange has ties to Russia and had provided financial support to lawmakers in the past.
Tusk's comments came after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to address allegations that the company was using investors' funds to bolster its declining reserves. Kral revealed that the exchange owns a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million, but cannot access the funds due to a missing private key.
The key was not handed over by the previous CEO, Sylwester Suszek, in 2021, and Suszek has been missing for four years. Zondacrypto has faced issues with frozen or delayed customer withdrawals since late March, prompting Kral to deny any misuse of client funds and assert that the exchange remains profitable. Kral attributed the situation to a broader campaign against the company, citing 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 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. In 2024, an investigative report identified a shareholder with a criminal record, and in 2025, the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection launched an investigation into Zonda's owner, BB Trade Estonia, for violating consumer interests. Kral has maintained that reports of declining reserves are due to a 'fundamental analytical error' and that the platform is stable and secure.