No Legal Ban on Cryptocurrency Trading or Exchanges in Poland, Says KNF
- Poland has made localized attempts to regulate specific aspects of cryptocurrencies.
Contrary to reports in the mainstream media, the Polish legal system has no regulations prohibiting the activity of cryptocurrencies exchanges, says the country’s financial regulatory body, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).
According to the KNF’s website, trading in crypto assets and trading venues themselves are not prohibited by law, and therefore its transactions are “legal on the territory of the Republic of Poland.”
Nevertheless, Poland has made localized attempts to regulate specific aspects of cryptocurrencies. While some of those instances are more concerning than others, none of it has officially banned the virtual asset class. Instead, the country has only taken a stance similar to other countries to regulate the nascent sector and to prevent its use for criminal activities.
The KNF’s circular also noted the new laws to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies which bring them in line with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial legislation.
Poland’s tax and AML approach
The new Polish act, which takes effect on July 13, lists the entities subject to this regulation, which are referred to as “obligated institutions.” The list of these entities is long and does not explicitly refer to cryptocurrencies, but it appears that Bitcoin exchanges and other entities that facilitate the trade of digital coins as part of their main business can be regarded as obligated institutions.
What is clear though, the ban on Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Initial Coin Offering (ICO) An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a kind of crypto token sale that is used as a method of fundraising, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which stocks are sold to raise money for a company.In order to launch an ICO, a company simply needs to create a website, issue a token, and set a time and date for the sale. Investors buy ICO tokens in exchange for another cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum; after a set amount of time, they receive the tokens they purchased in the sale.Accompanying most major ICOs has been the prevalence of a whitepaper. A whitepaper serves as both a persuasive sales pitch, and in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution. Most marketers relied on whitepapers to educate their respective audience about a particular issue, or explain and promote a particular methodology that an ICO could potentially solve. The information enclosed in whitepapers have historically been met with skepticism.Why ICOs Have Fallen Out of FavorThis is due in large part to the early days of ICOs, as this practice was highly unregulated and extremely risky. Because there were no regulations delineating who could and could not hold an ICO, many bad actors or incompetent technologists saw the practice as an opportunity to grab a lot of fast cash.As a result, many investors have lost quite a lot of money – their tokens were either never returned to them, or the companies who issued the tokens failed within several months of the token’s official launch.Regulators around the world have cracked down on the practice, which has resulted in a slightly “cleaner” ICO space.However, ICOs have garnered a pretty bad reputation and are still regarded as generally untrustworthy. As such, other methods of fundraising, such as Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) have been born. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a kind of crypto token sale that is used as a method of fundraising, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which stocks are sold to raise money for a company.In order to launch an ICO, a company simply needs to create a website, issue a token, and set a time and date for the sale. Investors buy ICO tokens in exchange for another cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum; after a set amount of time, they receive the tokens they purchased in the sale.Accompanying most major ICOs has been the prevalence of a whitepaper. A whitepaper serves as both a persuasive sales pitch, and in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution. Most marketers relied on whitepapers to educate their respective audience about a particular issue, or explain and promote a particular methodology that an ICO could potentially solve. The information enclosed in whitepapers have historically been met with skepticism.Why ICOs Have Fallen Out of FavorThis is due in large part to the early days of ICOs, as this practice was highly unregulated and extremely risky. Because there were no regulations delineating who could and could not hold an ICO, many bad actors or incompetent technologists saw the practice as an opportunity to grab a lot of fast cash.As a result, many investors have lost quite a lot of money – their tokens were either never returned to them, or the companies who issued the tokens failed within several months of the token’s official launch.Regulators around the world have cracked down on the practice, which has resulted in a slightly “cleaner” ICO space.However, ICOs have garnered a pretty bad reputation and are still regarded as generally untrustworthy. As such, other methods of fundraising, such as Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) have been born. Read this Term) remains. In line with action taken in other jurisdictions, Poland’s authorities have recently launched a campaign to educate its citizens on the potential risks involved when it comes to cryptocurrency and margin trading.
The campaign also notes the lack of proper regulations in place which means that crypto assets are somewhat murky for investors to be kept safe, unlike strictly regulated traditional financial markets.
Earlier in May, Poland’s finance ministry published an update of the country’s tax code, stating that it will not tax income from transactions on cryptocurrencies. The MoF justified its taxing decision by stating that it considers conducting an in-depth analysis to better regulate the emerging industry.
Contrary to reports in the mainstream media, the Polish legal system has no regulations prohibiting the activity of cryptocurrencies exchanges, says the country’s financial regulatory body, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).
According to the KNF’s website, trading in crypto assets and trading venues themselves are not prohibited by law, and therefore its transactions are “legal on the territory of the Republic of Poland.”
Nevertheless, Poland has made localized attempts to regulate specific aspects of cryptocurrencies. While some of those instances are more concerning than others, none of it has officially banned the virtual asset class. Instead, the country has only taken a stance similar to other countries to regulate the nascent sector and to prevent its use for criminal activities.
The KNF’s circular also noted the new laws to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies which bring them in line with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financial legislation.
Poland’s tax and AML approach
The new Polish act, which takes effect on July 13, lists the entities subject to this regulation, which are referred to as “obligated institutions.” The list of these entities is long and does not explicitly refer to cryptocurrencies, but it appears that Bitcoin exchanges and other entities that facilitate the trade of digital coins as part of their main business can be regarded as obligated institutions.
What is clear though, the ban on Initial Coin Offering (ICO) Initial Coin Offering (ICO) An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a kind of crypto token sale that is used as a method of fundraising, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which stocks are sold to raise money for a company.In order to launch an ICO, a company simply needs to create a website, issue a token, and set a time and date for the sale. Investors buy ICO tokens in exchange for another cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum; after a set amount of time, they receive the tokens they purchased in the sale.Accompanying most major ICOs has been the prevalence of a whitepaper. A whitepaper serves as both a persuasive sales pitch, and in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution. Most marketers relied on whitepapers to educate their respective audience about a particular issue, or explain and promote a particular methodology that an ICO could potentially solve. The information enclosed in whitepapers have historically been met with skepticism.Why ICOs Have Fallen Out of FavorThis is due in large part to the early days of ICOs, as this practice was highly unregulated and extremely risky. Because there were no regulations delineating who could and could not hold an ICO, many bad actors or incompetent technologists saw the practice as an opportunity to grab a lot of fast cash.As a result, many investors have lost quite a lot of money – their tokens were either never returned to them, or the companies who issued the tokens failed within several months of the token’s official launch.Regulators around the world have cracked down on the practice, which has resulted in a slightly “cleaner” ICO space.However, ICOs have garnered a pretty bad reputation and are still regarded as generally untrustworthy. As such, other methods of fundraising, such as Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) have been born. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a kind of crypto token sale that is used as a method of fundraising, similar to an Initial Public Offering (IPO), in which stocks are sold to raise money for a company.In order to launch an ICO, a company simply needs to create a website, issue a token, and set a time and date for the sale. Investors buy ICO tokens in exchange for another cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum; after a set amount of time, they receive the tokens they purchased in the sale.Accompanying most major ICOs has been the prevalence of a whitepaper. A whitepaper serves as both a persuasive sales pitch, and in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution. Most marketers relied on whitepapers to educate their respective audience about a particular issue, or explain and promote a particular methodology that an ICO could potentially solve. The information enclosed in whitepapers have historically been met with skepticism.Why ICOs Have Fallen Out of FavorThis is due in large part to the early days of ICOs, as this practice was highly unregulated and extremely risky. Because there were no regulations delineating who could and could not hold an ICO, many bad actors or incompetent technologists saw the practice as an opportunity to grab a lot of fast cash.As a result, many investors have lost quite a lot of money – their tokens were either never returned to them, or the companies who issued the tokens failed within several months of the token’s official launch.Regulators around the world have cracked down on the practice, which has resulted in a slightly “cleaner” ICO space.However, ICOs have garnered a pretty bad reputation and are still regarded as generally untrustworthy. As such, other methods of fundraising, such as Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) and Security Token Offerings (STOs) have been born. Read this Term) remains. In line with action taken in other jurisdictions, Poland’s authorities have recently launched a campaign to educate its citizens on the potential risks involved when it comes to cryptocurrency and margin trading.
The campaign also notes the lack of proper regulations in place which means that crypto assets are somewhat murky for investors to be kept safe, unlike strictly regulated traditional financial markets.
Earlier in May, Poland’s finance ministry published an update of the country’s tax code, stating that it will not tax income from transactions on cryptocurrencies. The MoF justified its taxing decision by stating that it considers conducting an in-depth analysis to better regulate the emerging industry.