The KNF has added cryptocurrency exchange BTCDuke and the company Tygrysia Maska sp. z o.o., which also operates in the cryptocurrency trading market, to its warning list. Two more companies targeted by the KNF The KNF refers to Article 150 of the Payment Services Act , which reads: "Whoever, without being authorized, conducts activity in the provision of payment services or in the issuance of electronic money, shall be subject to a fine of up to PLN 5,000,000 or to imprisonment for up to 2 years, or to both these penalties jointly." Against both companies, the Commission filed a notice to the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Toruń. BTCDuke is famous for being, as it points out, the only exchange in Poland that uses the Lightning Network. Tygrysia Maska sp. z o.o., on the other hand, manages a network of bit machines across the country and an online cantor. Tiger Mask's post The Digital Economy portal published Tiger Mask's position on the KNF decision: "The Financial Supervisory Commission are generally comedians. The tendency of payment services market regulators to demand money broking licenses from exchanges is a broader phenomenon that goes beyond the FSC. It was due to concerns about this approach of regulators that, for example, the Bitstamp exchange decided to be "licensed" just by obtaining a license to provide payment services (in Luxembourg). Overzealousness of regulators has its source in complete ignorance of the provisions of the Payment Services Act and its equivalents. For here is Article 6(11)(b) in that Act. It quotes: "The provisions of the Act (...) shall not apply to (...) services based on payment instruments that can only be used in a limited manner and that (...) are used only for the acquisition of a very limited range of goods or services". Cryptocurrency exchanges listed by the KNF offer the acquisition of a few to a maximum of a dozen currencies. Customers cannot acquire anything beyond them. Such an instrument fits perfectly into the aforementioned exemption. For several years, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority has been filing reports to the public prosecutor's offices, which, to my knowledge, dismiss the cases due to "low social noxiousness of the act". I do not know of any prosecutor's office that would take on the frivolousness of KNF officials, and at the same time none that would have the courage to discontinue the case due to the lack of statutory features of a prohibited act. Adam Gramowski" Tags btcduke exchange Tiger Mask
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