The troubles facing Polish cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto continue to escalate. Following reports of customer withdrawals being frozen or delayed, the company has come under fire from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who alleged that Zondacrypto sponsored politicians who opposed crypto market regulation. Tusk claimed that these politicians were acting in the exchange's interests when they blocked legislation. The exchange has ties to Russia and had previously provided financial support to lawmakers.
Tusk's comments came after Zondacrypto's CEO, Przemysław Kral, attempted to address allegations that the company was using investor funds to bolster 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 a missing private key. The key was not handed over by the previous CEO, Sylwester Suszek, when he left the company in 2021, and he has since gone missing.
Zondacrypto has been dealing with reports of delayed customer withdrawals since late March, but Kral denied any misuse of client funds and maintained that the exchange remains profitable. He claimed that the situation is part of a broader campaign against the company, citing political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage. An analysis by blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris found that bitcoin balances in hot wallets tied to Zonda have decreased by about 99% since mid-2024.
The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-running, with the company having faced scrutiny in the past over its connections to criminal activity and unauthorized financial activities. 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.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection is currently investigating Zonda's owner, BB Trade Estonia, for violating consumer interests. Kral has attributed reports of declining reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' and stated that the platform is stable, solvent, and secure. However, the wallet presented as proof of reserves has seen little recent activity, with no outgoing transactions and only 32 receiving transactions.
The controversy has also impacted the country's legislative process, with a vote to overturn the president's veto of a crypto market regulation law falling short of the required majority.