Poland's lower house voted 240-202 for a sanctions bill that names crypto assets among property the interior minister can freeze, and a court appeal would not suspend the order. The Senate now has 30 days to act, and the president's earlier crypto vetoes add uncertainty.
Lower house backs a sanctions law that reaches crypto
Poland's Sejm passed the Act on Restrictive Measures on Friday by 240 votes to 202, according to Cointelegraph, which cited official parliamentary records. Bitcoin Magazine reported that one member abstained and 17 did not vote, and that the vote came at the chamber's 68th sitting.
The bill is a government proposal. It also implements European Union sanctions rules and spells out that crypto assets count among the financial means authorities can freeze. Both outlets say the Senate received the text on Monday.
How a freeze would work in practice
Only people and entities placed on a national list by the interior minister would be affected. Bitcoin Magazine reports that the minister may add names unprompted or on a request from several state bodies, among them the financial watchdog, the central bank, the country's financial intelligence unit and its internal security service. Listings may rest on support for a state already under EU sanctions, grave human rights abuses, or starting or funding information manipulation that seriously threatens national security.
A listing takes effect the day after it is published in the ministry's Public Information Bulletin and can be enforced at once. There is no step for asking the minister to reconsider. A listed person may bring the matter before an administrative court, but Bitcoin Magazine says the listing continues to apply until a final ruling is issued, and the bill sets aside the usual rule under which a court could pause a contested order.
Beyond freezes, the measures prohibit supplying funds or property to a listed person, and listed persons can also be shut out of public procurement. Bitcoin Magazine adds that, in some cases, the economy minister may appoint an interim administrator tasked with selling frozen assets, or may take them over for the State Treasury under a separate order.
The numbers that define the vote and the timetable
The reported figures show a majority that is real but not wide, and a short clock in the upper house.
- 240 votes in favour and 202 against in the Sejm, with one abstention.
- 17 members did not vote, according to Bitcoin Magazine.
- 30 days for the Senate under Article 121 of the Constitution.
- 241-198 was the September tally when lawmakers failed to override the president's veto of a separate crypto-assets market bill.
Where the outlets agree and where they differ
All three outlets agree on the central point. Crypto can be frozen, listings can bite before a court looks at them, and an appeal does not automatically lift the restrictions. The Defiant frames this around exchange customers, saying listed users could lose access to assets held on exchanges. Its coverage is limited to a headline and summary, so details beyond that framing cannot be attributed to it.
Bitcoin Magazine supplies the most detail on the mechanics. It covers the listing grounds, the carve-out for ordinary journalism and political speech, the administrator and Treasury powers, and the fines for banks and exchanges that fail to comply. Cointelegraph is more concise but adds the legal history. It notes that Poland already keeps a national list based on a 2022 law targeting backing for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and that the new bill widens the grounds to certain foreign interference and information manipulation.
The accounts also differ on the Senate step. Cointelegraph says that if the Senate does nothing within 30 days, the Constitution treats the bill as approved in the Sejm's form. Bitcoin Magazine describes the same window as a choice to adopt, amend or reject, and focuses on the president's signature that would follow.
Why exchanges and custodians carry the burden
Bitcoin Magazine says ordinary bitcoin holders in Poland are not the bill's focus. Its scope covers crypto that listed people and companies own, hold or control. Administrative fines can be imposed on banks, exchanges and other parties that do not freeze such assets or that supply them to listed persons. The financial intelligence unit and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority check compliance for the firms they already oversee.
The same outlet notes that the text does not describe any way for officials to obtain keys to coins in self-custody. In its reading, enforcement in practice depends on exchanges, custodians and other obliged institutions able to block a transfer. For platforms serving Polish users, that points to a practical task of screening customers against the national list once it exists and understanding how quickly a posted listing becomes binding.
A president who has already resisted crypto legislation
The bill still needs to pass the Senate and then reach President Karol Nawrocki. Bitcoin Magazine reports that he declined to sign a distinct market bill for crypto assets that the Sejm adopted on May 15. Lawmakers failed to override that veto in September, voting 241-198. He had also vetoed earlier versions, arguing the rules went too far.
That dispute was about how crypto firms are licensed and overseen under EU rules, not about sanctions freezes. The earlier votes therefore do not show how the president will treat a sanctions law, and none of the three outlets reports his position on it.
Open questions for the Senate stage
The first question is whether senators change the pre-court freeze, since any amendment would send the text back into the legislative process. A second is how the minister's national list will be built in practice, including which agencies request listings and how often.
A third is whether the president signs a sanctions law that expressly covers bitcoin and other crypto assets. Crypto firms operating in Poland can meanwhile check how the bill defines crypto assets by reference to the EU's MiCA regulation, because that definition decides which customer holdings fall within a freeze.
Market snapshot
| Asset | Price | 24h | 7d | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $73,977 | -0.3% | -5.6% | $1.49 trillion |
CoinGecko data as of 2026-11-11 (UTC).
FAQ
Can Poland freeze crypto before a court reviews the case?
Under the bill passed by the Sejm, yes. A listing by the interior minister takes effect the day after it is published, and an administrative court appeal does not suspend it. The bill still needs Senate action and the president's decision.
Does the Polish sanctions bill affect ordinary bitcoin holders?
According to Bitcoin Magazine, it does not target ordinary holders. It applies to crypto owned, held or controlled by people and firms on the national sanctions list. Exchanges and other institutions would be the ones required to carry out freezes.
What happens next with the Act on Restrictive Measures?
The Senate has 30 days to adopt, amend or reject the bill. Cointelegraph reports that if it does nothing, the Constitution treats the bill as approved in the Sejm's form. It would then go to President Karol Nawrocki.
Sources
- Bitcoin Magazine: Poland’s Parliament Votes 240-202 to Let Officials Freeze Crypto Before Court Review (2026-11-10)
- Cointelegraph: Poland’s lower house backs sanctions bill covering crypto freezes (2026-11-10)
- The Defiant: Poland’s Lower House Backs Crypto Freezes Under Broader Sanctions Bill (2026-11-09)
- CoinGecko (market data)
Written by the Coinvote news desk from reporting by Bitcoin Magazine, Cointelegraph and The Defiant. Not financial advice.
