Polish Finance Ministry: EU Should Create Bitcoin Regulation

Poland’s Ministry of Finance has said regulating bitcoin should form "part of initiatives at the EU level, due to the transborder character of cryptocurrency transactions".

The ministry provided this statement in a written response to a request for information filed by two Polish Members of Parliament (MPs), Jan Warzecha and Bogdan Rzońca.

In their request for information, the MPs said "piracy, cybercrime, phishing, thefts and hacking online accounts and attacks on the users of cryptocurrencies are increasingly often taking place".

More specifically, they said that, between 2004 and 2014, the amount of detected cybercrimes increased from 404 to some 22,000. As a result, the politicians asked the ministry whether it "has plans to launch legislative activities with the aim of regulating the issue of digital currencies".

No plans for bitcoin regulation

While stating it does not plan to initiate any new cryptocurrency-related regulations in the near future, the Polish Ministry of Finance said:

"What is equally important, besides regulatory activities, is an informational campaign which highlights the risks resulting from purchasing cryptocurrency, and which is developed by the General Inspector of Financial Information.”

In spite of its call on the European Union institutions to regulate cryptocurrency, the document states "the issue will continue to be of interest to the Ministry of Finance, including its tax administration authorities".

In their request for information, the two MPs ask whether there is any proof that cryptocurrencies have been used in Poland to launder money or finance terrorist activities.

The ministry states that, to date, "tax authorities have not reported … any irregularities related to violations of the tax legislation".

It goes on to say the country’s General Inspector of Financial Information performs, on an ongoing basis, research activities "in the field of monitoring and analysing potential risks of money laundering or financing terrorism with the use of cryptocurrencies".

The document, which was written in Polish, is available on the Polish parliament’s website, and indicates it was obtained by the Polish parliament on 15th September, following a request for information filed by the two lawmakers on 26th August.

The two MPs are members of the parliamentary club of Law and Justice (PiS) party which currently is leading the polls ahead of the country's parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on 25th October.

Should Poland have a new government following the vote, the Ministry of Finance could change its stance on cryptocurrency regulation.

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