Estonian Regulator Partially Suspends Zondacrypto's License Amid Compliance Issues

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Estonia has partially suspended the operating license of BB Trade Estonia OÜ, the company behind the crypto exchange Zondacrypto. According to Cointelegraph, this decision restricts the company from accepting new deposits and onboarding clients, although existing users can still withdraw their funds. The suspension raises the possibility of BB Trade Estonia OÜ losing its license if it fails to meet the compliance standards set by Estonian authorities. The FIU has given BB Trade Estonia OÜ a 30-day period to align its operations with legal requirements following the partial suspension. Failure to comply within this timeframe could lead to the revocation of its operating license. The specific compliance breaches that led to the suspension were not disclosed by the FIU. Cointelegraph reached out to the authority for further comments but did not receive a response at the time of publication. Previously, Estonia’s Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority (FSA) had issued a warning against BB Trade on May 8, citing that its "TeamPL" crypto token violated the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) due to the absence of a white paper. Zondacrypto is currently under broader regulatory scrutiny in Europe, with issues such as withdrawal problems and a statement from its CEO about an inaccessible exchange cold wallet containing approximately 4,500 Bitcoin. The situation has also drawn attention in Poland, where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk mentioned around 30,000 potential victims linked to crypto-related losses. Market data from CoinGecko indicates minimal recent trading activity on the exchange. Cointelegraph's attempts to contact Zondacrypto for comments were unsuccessful, as emails bounced back at the time of publication. Additionally, key staff members of BB Trade have left the company following these developments. Originally founded in Poland in 2014 as BitBay, Zondacrypto has become a significant player in the European crypto market, especially among Polish-speaking users. Despite its Polish roots, the company has been registered in Estonia since September 2019, prior to the full implementation of the EU’s MiCA regulation in late 2024. Zondacrypto is now part of a larger regulatory debate in Poland, with concerns about its potential connections to Russian capital and political influence. Some Polish policymakers have criticized the delays and inconsistencies in the country’s implementation of MiCA rules, even as the exchange operated under its Estonian registration. Meanwhile, the FSA has issued a MiCA license to LHV Pank, one of Estonia’s largest banks, marking it as the second financial institution in the country to receive approval under the EU’s crypto regulatory framework.