XTB secured
regulatory approval in Cyprus to offer spot cryptocurrency trading,
sidestepping months of political deadlock in its home market over implementing
the EU’s digital asset framework.
In the background, there was an open letter to the president, a veto of a bill that runs to more than 300 pages in its Polish version, and an attempt to force it through parliament again in exactly the same form that the head of state had refused to sign.
After 11 Months Waiting, XTB Takes Crypto Business to Cyprus
The Cyprus
Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) authorized XTB’s local entity to
provide spot crypto services under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.
The broker plans to roll out trading to clients in Cyprus first, then expand to
other jurisdictions once it clears regulatory hurdles there.
“This
step will allow us not only to enhance our offering but also fully test this
new feature before the planned rollout to other jurisdictions,” Omar
Arnaout, XTB’s CEO, said in a statement.
The Cyprus
move comes after XTB’s public push for Poland to adopt MiCA legislation failed.
President Karol Nawrocki has not signed a crypto bill that passed parliament,
leaving Poland more than 11 months behind other EU members in implementing the
bloc’s digital asset rules.
Crypto Plans Date Back to
Early 2025
XTB first
signaled its spot crypto ambitions in January when it posted a job listing for
a “Head of Crypto” to build a digital asset trading platform. Filip
Kaczmarzyk, the broker’s head of trading, confirmed to
FinanceMagnate.com that
spot cryptocurrencies were under review, though he noted other products took
priority at the time.
The company
has offered crypto CFDs since 2018 but wanted to add actual digital assets to
compete with platforms already providing spot trading.
Poland’s
draft crypto law became a flashpoint between industry players. XTB wrote an open
letter to the president in November arguing that the absence of regulation posed bigger
risks than any flaws in the proposed legislation. The broker warned that Polish
investors were being pushed to offshore platforms outside national supervision.
“Without a local law, Polish investment firms cannot obtain the necessary licenses,” XTB says in a letter signed by two board members, including Jakub Kubacki and Kaczmarzyk.
334-Page Bill Drew Fire
From Opposition
Critics
including Sławomir Mentzen, leader of the opposition Konfederacja party, called
Poland’s proposed law “the most unfriendly in Europe.” The bill runs
to 334 pages compared to 23 in Austria and 16 in Romania. It hands oversight to
the Financial Supervision Authority, or KNF, a regulator Mentzen accused of
hostility toward crypto innovation.
The
legislation includes a 0.4% tax on gross revenues that industry voices said
would burden operators. Mentzen warned the regulator could blacklist companies
“without the right to appeal.”
Parliament
passed the same bill a second time without changes, creating an unusual
political standoff that left no clear path forward for domestic crypto
regulation. The question is why the president would sign it now, and why the
government is so determined to push it through in its unchanged form.
XTB
acknowledged regulatory concerns but insisted that operating without any
framework created worse problems. The company said only foreign entities could
legally serve Polish customers under current rules, potentially costing the
government tax revenue.
The Cyprus
authorization lets XTB move forward with spot crypto trading while Poland’s
legislative process remains stuck. The broker said it would maintain both CFD
and spot crypto products as separate instruments once services launch.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
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