Polish authorities have prepared a bill that will allow the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) to block cryptocurrency accounts if the agency suspects the owners of criminal activities.

The bill expands the powers of the KNF to supervise the trading of digital assets and the provision of cryptocurrency services. The department, if the document is approved by parliament, will have the right to independently block the accounts of cryptocurrency holders for 96 hours (four days). It is enough to suspect that transactions could theoretically be linked to criminal activity. With the consent of the prosecutor's office, the initial blocking period can be extended even up to six months.

Cryptocurrency trader, analyst and editor-in-chief of the Polish financial portal Comparic Arkadiusz Jóźwiak called the bill an initiative that has caused serious controversy – just a few years after the Polish authorities introduced a 19% tax on transactions with cryptocurrencies.

“Given the ill will that KNF still shows towards cryptocurrencies, preemptive blocking of accounts due to ordinary suspicions may become excessive,” the trader said.

In January, Polish authorities announced that in 2024 they would introduce a regulatory framework for the regulation of cryptocurrencies, allowing for the integration of the European Union Cryptocurrency Act (MiCA) into the local legal framework. In case of violations, the regulator will be able to impose financial sanctions on companies operating in the cryptocurrency market and bring them to court.