The challenges 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 to oppose crypto market regulation.
Tusk made these comments before a parliamentary vote to overturn President Karol Nawrocki's veto of the law, citing the exchange's links to Russia and its previous financial support for lawmakers. In response to allegations that the company was using investor funds to bolster its dwindling reserves, Zondacrypto's CEO Przemysław Kral took to social media to assure that the exchange has sufficient reserves. However, he revealed that the company owns a bitcoin wallet containing approximately 4,500 BTC, valued at around $330 million, but is unable to access it due to a missing private key. The key was not handed over by the previous CEO, Sylwester Suszek, when ownership of the exchange changed in 2021, and Suszek has been missing for four years.
Zondacrypto has been plagued by reports of delayed customer withdrawals since late March. Kral denied any misuse of client funds, stating that the exchange remains profitable. He disclosed the inaccessible wallet to demonstrate the exchange's reserves. According to Kral, the situation is part of a broader campaign against the company, involving political pressure, regulatory interference, and coordinated media coverage, which has 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 decreased by about 99% since mid-2024. The controversy surrounding Zondacrypto is long-standing.
In 2024, Polish investigative reporting identified a shareholder, Marek K., who held a 35% stake, as a criminal sentenced to eight years in prison for complicity in a gangland murder and fined for VAT fraud. The company was placed on Poland's Financial Supervision Authority's public warning list in 2019 for unauthorized financial activities. An investigation into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda's owner, for violating consumer interests, is ongoing. Kral attributed reports of declining reserves to a 'fundamental analytical error' focusing solely on hot wallets and stated that the platform is 'stable, solvent, and secure.' He explained that withdrawal delays were caused by an unusually high volume of requests and the implementation of new security and transaction monitoring systems, necessitating manual verifications.
On-chain data shows little recent activity in the wallet presented as proof of reserves. The veto vote ultimately did not overturn the block, with 191 MPs voting in favor and 243 against, falling short of the required number to override the veto.