The woes of Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of customers experiencing frozen or delayed withdrawals, the company has drawn criticism from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who alleged in parliament that Zondacrypto had sponsored certain politicians to oppose crypto market regulation. Tusk claimed these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests by blocking the legislation. The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to these lawmakers.
Tusk's remarks came after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to address allegations that the company was using 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, but is unable to access the funds due to the previous owner's failure to hand over the private key. The former CEO, Sylwester Suszek, has been missing since 2021. Kral denied any misuse of client funds, stating that the exchange remains profitable.
He 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 linked to Zonda have decreased by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-standing, with Polish investigative reporting in 2024 identifying a shareholder with a criminal record. In 2019, Poland's Financial Supervision Authority placed BitBay, the exchange's former name, on its public warning list for unauthorized financial activities.
An investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, is ongoing. Kral has attributed reports of declining reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' and stated that the platform is 'stable, solvent, and secure.' The presented wallet has seen minimal recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and only 32 receiving transactions.
The veto vote on the crypto market regulation law resulted in 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, falling short of the required number to overturn the block.