Thousands of customers of the Zondacrypto crypto exchange - which previously operated under the name BitBay - have been unable to withdraw their funds since the service closed on April 23, 2026. User losses are estimated to exceed 350 million Polish zloty, equivalent to $96 million or around Rp1.5 trillion.
The collapse of the exchange brings back one of the dark incidents in the European crypto industry. The founder of Zondacrypto, Sylwester Suszek, disappeared without a trace on March 10, 2022, after attending a business meeting in Czeladź, Poland. Shortly after his disappearance, Suszek’s family received a message claiming he had been kidnapped, with ransom demands in Bitcoin. To this day, his fate remains unknown.
Pieces of this crime slowly unfolded when his former business partner, Marian Wszolek, was charged with kidnapping and money laundering. However, Suszek’s disappearance turned out to be just the beginning of a series of irregularities in the exchange’s management.
Locked Wallet Alibi
Before the exchange halted operations, successor CEO Przemysław Kral claimed that the company still held more than 4,500 BTC. Kral reasoned that Suszek was the only person who held the access keys to unlock the wallet containing the assets. This unilateral claim was never verified, and the history of fund movements on the blockchain instead showed the opposite pattern.
On-chain data from analytical firm Recoveris recorded a sharp decline in the exchange’s holdings. The Bitcoin balance in Zondacrypto’s hot wallet plummeted from around 55.7 BTC in August 2024 to just 0.18 BTC in March 2026. Responding to this uncertainty, the company’s internal ZND token also plummeted, losing almost all of its value shortly after services were suspended.
Now, the whereabouts of CEO Przemysław Kral are also in question. Polish media reports suggest he is in Israel or Dubai, but local law enforcement has not yet provided official confirmation regarding his exact location.
Scandal Sparks Parliamentary Debate
The Zondacrypto case is currently under investigation by Polish prosecutors for suspected fraud. A New York Times report published on August 23, 2026, brought the incident to the international stage, highlighting the vulnerability of user funds on platforms that escape strict oversight.
The scandal immediately entered high-level regulatory debates in the Polish Parliament. Lawmakers used the collapse of the exchange as primary ammunition when discussing the implementation of the European Union’s MiCA crypto regulatory framework.
For the thousands of customers whose assets are held, the upcoming new regulatory framework is not an instant solution. They can now only monitor the ongoing legal process, caught between an exchange whose founder went missing after being kidnapped and a CEO whose whereabouts are uncertain.
Reported from crypto.news.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
