The cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto in Poland is facing escalating issues, with new criticism emerging from political circles.
Following reports of customer withdrawal delays and frozen funds, the company drew further scrutiny when Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accused it of funding politicians who opposed crypto market regulation. In a parliamentary session before an attempt to overturn President Karol Nawrocki’s veto on legislation, Tusk suggested that certain legislators were aligned with Zondacrypto’s interests due to financial backing they received from the exchange, which has connections to Russia, as reported by AP.
These allegations follow claims made by Przemysław Kral, CEO of Zondacrypto, who used X to address accusations concerning investor fund misappropriation. In a video and statement posted on the platform, Kral asserted that the company had adequate reserves, including about 4,500 BTC ($330 million) in an inaccessible bitcoin wallet due to missing private keys from its previous owner.
Kral disclosed the wallet’s address to dispel claims of fund misappropriation. The key was never transferred by former CEO Sylwester Suszek during a management transition in 2021 when Zondacrypto, formerly BitBay, changed hands. Suszek has been unaccounted for since then.
Reports of withdrawal issues began surfacing in late March, according to local media. Kral refuted any client fund misuse and emphasized the exchange’s profitability. He highlighted this inaccessible wallet as evidence of sufficient reserves while framing these challenges within a broader campaign against Zondacrypto, involving political pressure, regulatory actions, and coordinated media coverage.
Blockchain intelligence firm Recoveris noted in reports cited by local news that bitcoin balances linked to Zonda had diminished by roughly 99% since mid-2024. Kral previously threatened legal action against Polish news outlets covering the dispute.
The controversy reignites longstanding issues with the company, including a 2024 investigation led by TVN which revealed that a major shareholder was convicted for complicity in a murder and fined for VAT fraud. The Financial Supervision Authority of Poland listed BitBay on its warning list in 2019 due to unauthorized financial activities. In January 2025, an ongoing inquiry into BB Trade Estonia, Zonda’s owner, began by Poland’s consumer protection agency for alleged consumer interest violations.
In a recent post on X, Kral contested reports about reserve declines, attributing them to an error in analysis that focused only on hot wallets. At the time of his statement, he maintained that Zonda was stable and solvent. Regarding withdrawal delays, Kral explained they resulted from an overwhelming number of requests and the implementation of new security measures requiring manual verification.
The wallet presented as proof of reserves has seen minimal activity recently, with onchain data showing no outgoing transactions but 32 incoming ones. In a parliamentary vote to overturn Nawrocki’s veto, 243 MPs voted against it, falling short by 20 votes, as reported by TVP World.