Hungary Just Ditched One of Europe’s Toughest Crypto Laws

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Hungary is preparing to decriminalize cryptocurrency trading, reversing one of Europe’s strictest crypto regulatory frameworks less than a year after it took effect. The move follows criticism from the European Union and comes after major platforms, including Revolut, suspended crypto services in the country. Officials say the previous rules damaged the market, reduced trading activity, and created unnecessary legal uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of users.

Hungary Reverses One of Europe’s Toughest Crypto Crackdowns

Indeed, according to a June 11 report, government spokesperson Anita Köböl announced that Hungary will dismantle the restrictive crypto framework introduced under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, calling it an “unnecessary piece of legislation” that made normal market activity nearly impossible.

The rules, which came into force in July 2025, required users to obtain compliance certificates from authorized validation providers before completing crypto-to-fiat or crypto-to-crypto transactions. The authorities considered transactions without the required validation as unauthorized and exposed both users and service providers to criminal penalties.

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Under the law, individuals could face up to two years in prison for using unauthorized crypto services involving between 5 million and 50 million Hungarian forints (about $16,000 to $160,000). Higher transaction amounts carried prison sentences of up to five years, whereas operators of unauthorized crypto businesses faced penalties of up to eight years.

According to Köböl, the legislation contributed to a sharp decline in crypto trading volumes and prompted several digital asset companies, including Revolut, to suspend cryptocurrency services in Hungary.

She also said the European Union opened an investigation into whether Hungary’s framework was compatible with the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

New Government Shifts Toward EU-Aligned Crypto Rules

The policy reversal follows Hungary’s April parliamentary election, which ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year tenure in office and brought Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s pro-European Tisza Party to power.

The new government plans to remove criminal penalties for crypto trading and replace the existing framework with regulation aligned more closely with the European Union’s MiCA standards.

The planned changes would eliminate the mandatory validation certificate system that many industry participants argued created excessive compliance burdens without improving investor protection.

The shift should also make it easier for international crypto firms to return to the Hungarian market. Companies that suspended local services due to legal uncertainty could resume operations once the new framework is implemented.

The government has not yet provided a detailed timeline for introducing the new legislation. However, officials have indicated that they would present further proposals in the coming months as Hungary works to bring its crypto market back into line with broader European regulations.