Zonda, the Polish-founded crypto exchange formerly known as BitBay, has disclosed a cold wallet holding 4,503 BTC worth approximately $334 million at current prices. CEO Przemyslaw Kral confirmed in a video statement that the private keys to the wallet were never transferred during a company handover. The keys were held by founder and former CEO Sylwester Suszek, who has been missing since March 2022. The disclosure comes as the exchange faces an escalating withdrawal crisis and allegations of insolvency.
$334M Wallet Visible on Chain, Last Active November 2025
The wallet address Kral disclosed is publicly verifiable on the Bitcoin blockchain. It holds 4,503 BTC with the last recorded transaction dating to November 2025. This is the first time Zonda has publicly shared the address despite weeks of mounting controversy over its financial health.
Kral denied any involvement in Suszek’s disappearance, arguing that the inaccessible wallet itself is evidence of his lack of complicity. He stated that he cares most about Suszek being found, precisely because the private keys remain with the missing founder.
25,000 Withdrawal Requests Hit in Days After Insolvency Claims
The crisis escalated after blockchain analytics platform Recoveris published an analysis on April 6 alleging that Zonda could be insolvent based on a sharp decline in the exchange’s hot wallet balances. Polish media followed with reports of a probe by local authorities.
Kral said Zonda typically processes around 100,000 withdrawal requests per year but received more than 25,000 requests within hours and days of the Recoveris report. The abnormal spike created processing delays that further fueled concerns among users and the press.
Zonda Crisis Timeline
| Event | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founder Disappearance | Sylwester Suszek, missing since Mar 2022 |
| Cold Wallet Balance | 4,503 BTC (~$334M) |
| Last Wallet Activity | November 2025 |
| Recoveris Insolvency Claim | April 6, 2026 |
| Withdrawal Spike | 25,000+ requests in days (vs 100K/year avg) |
| CEO Response | Denied insolvency, disclosed wallet address |
| Legal Action | Planned against false claims |
Criminal Ties and a Missing CEO Complicate the Picture
Polish media reports have referenced alleged criminal ties among certain Zonda shareholders. Suszek’s disappearance has been the subject of an active police investigation since 2022. Polish lawmaker Tomasz Mentzen commented publicly that Zonda may have effectively lost access to its cold wallet when Suszek vanished.
Kral stopped short of saying the funds are permanently lost, but confirmed that the private keys were never part of the company handover. The distinction is narrow: the Bitcoin is visible on chain, verifiably untouched since late 2025, but functionally inaccessible to the exchange’s current management.
Regulatory Vacuum Adds Pressure
Zonda was founded in Poland in 2014 as BitBay and rebranded in 2021. Kral told Cointelegraph in February that the company registered in Estonia due to regulatory uncertainty in Poland, citing delays in implementing the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The withdrawal crisis has now drawn the exchange into a broader political debate about Poland’s crypto oversight, adding pressure on regulators and increasing scrutiny of the country’s digital asset sector.
Kral said Zonda plans to take legal action over what he described as false claims and promised to fulfill all customer obligations. Whether the exchange can process withdrawals without access to its largest reserve wallet remains the central question.
