Poland VASP Register and MiCA Transition

Poland Has Moved from VASP Registration to MiCA CASP Authorisation

Poland’s former VASP registration regime should now be viewed in the context of the transition to the EU MiCA framework. Businesses planning to provide crypto-asset services in Poland need to assess whether they need a CASP license in Poland from the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF). Manimama supports companies with regulatory scoping, corporate structuring, application documents, AML/KYC, governance, and communication with the KNF.

Why Poland was popular under the former VASP regime

Under the former Polish VASP register, Poland was considered an accessible jurisdiction for virtual-asset businesses entering the Polish and wider European markets.

1. The former VASP registration procedure was comparatively accessible. The procedure for obtaining VASP authorization is much simpler than in other European countries, and the Regulator has created an IT system with the help of which it is easy to fulfill the obligations under Polish legislation. Moreover, all registration steps can be carried out partially remotely.

2. Number of registered VASPs in Poland. There’s no better argument than statistics. Poland is the 2nd among European countries in the number of registered VASPs. As of 5 June 2024, the Polish VASP register contains information on 1334 companies!!! that have ever received VASP authorization.

3.Access to the European Union market under the former regime. The Polish VASP can serve all EU citizens if it a) does not conduct an aggressive marketing campaign, and b) does not directly offer its services to such persons.

4. Customer verification rules under the former VASP regime. VASPs in Poland are not obliged to verify customers if the amount of deposit, withdrawal, transaction, or exchange is less than 1000 euros, but it should be noted that this applies to customers with whom no business relations are established (the company itself decides in which cases business relations are established, so in practice, it may be speculative).

Briefly on Regulation of VASPs and Crypto in Poland

VASPs and Crypto in Poland are regulated by the Act on Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (hereinafter: “AML/CFT Act”). Meanwhile, the following state authorities act as regulators:

1. The Ministry of Finance, which in relation to VASP acts in the person of the Tax Administration Office in Katowice (in Polish “Izba Administracji Skarbowej w Katowicach”). The Tax Administration Office in Katowice verifies the application for authorization as VASPs, enters companies into the VASP register, and issues confirmation certificates.

2. General Inspector of Financial Information (in Polish “Generalny Inspektor Informacji Finansowej”). Regulates VASPs with respect to the enforcement of the AML/CFT Act.

VASP in Poland is a company that can offer such services as: a) exchange between virtual currencies and means of payment (BTC/ETH/NEAR to Euro/Zloty etc.), exchange between virtual currencies (BTC to ETH), intermediation of exchange between virtual currencies and means of payment or virtual currencies (for example, when a company acts as a platform for P2P/B2B transactions in crypto).

Although the AML/CFT Act does not explicitly state that a VASP may offer custodial services, We consider that companies can legally provide such services under Polish VASP, because Polish law does not provide any restrictions or special permission for the custody of virtual assets, such restrictions exist only for means of payment (zloty, euros, pounds), virtual assets are not a means of payment, and in some cases it is not possible to carry out exchanges between virtual assets without custodial storage. In addition, the regulators have not issued any clarification regarding the prohibitions on providing custodial storage for VASP.

VASP to CASP transition in Poland

The Polish VASP register formed part of the previous national AML framework for virtual-asset businesses. After MiCA took effect, companies intending to provide regulated crypto-asset services must assess whether they need CASP authorization.

CASP authorization involves broader requirements concerning governance, capital, AML/CFT controls, operational resilience, and regulatory documentation. Businesses planning to operate in Poland should therefore follow the current MiCA licensing framework rather than rely on the former VASP registration process.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter, not to be considered as a legal consultation.

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