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Hungary has moved to remove prison penalties tied to cryptocurrency trading after restrictions introduced in 2025 led to a slump in trading activity and prompted several platforms to scale back services in the country.<\/p>\n
\n Summary<\/span>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Government spokeswoman Anita Kobol told<\/a> reporters on Thursday that Hungary plans to reverse measures adopted under former Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n\u2019s administration, which imposed criminal liability on certain crypto-related transactions and service providers.<\/p>\n The restrictions required approved validation for transactions converting cryptocurrency into traditional currency and for crypto-to-crypto exchanges.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Kobol, the European Union has opened an investigation into whether those rules complied with bloc regulations.<\/p>\n The rollback follows Hungary\u2019s April 2026 parliamentary election, which brought the pro-European Tisza Party to power. Subsequently, newly appointed Minister of Innovation and Technology Zolt\u00e1n Tan\u00e1cs described<\/a> the previous framework as \u201cexcessive and politically driven.\u201d<\/p>\n Legislation introduced<\/a> in 2025 created two offenses around abuse of crypto assets by users and the provision of unauthorized crypto asset exchange services by operators.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Under the framework, every crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transaction required a compliance certificate from a licensed local validator. Transactions completed without that certificate were considered legally invalid.<\/p>\n A Forbes report published after the law took effect said individuals could face up to two years in prison for unauthorized crypto transactions, with penalties rising for larger transaction sizes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Transactions exceeding 50 million Hungarian forints, approximately $140,000, carried prison terms of up to three years, while transactions above 500 million forints, about $1.4 million, carried penalties of up to five years.<\/p>\n Service providers also faced criminal exposure. According to the Forbes report, operators that failed to secure approval under Hungary\u2019s validation regime risked prison sentences of up to three years, while businesses handling particularly large crypto volumes could face penalties of up to eight years.<\/p>\n Industry participants warned that the measures created uncertainty for both users and companies. Local estimates cited by Forbes suggested roughly 500,000 Hungarians were involved in cryptocurrency activities when the legislation was introduced.<\/p>\n Market participants responded quickly after the rules came into force. Revolut suspended cryptocurrency services in Hungary, while other digital asset firms reportedly explored relocating operations to jurisdictions such as Estonia and Lithuania. Trading volumes for digital assets also declined following implementation of the restrictions.<\/p>\n With the criminal provisions now set to be removed, the government is seeking to bring Hungary\u2019s approach closer to the European Union\u2019s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n
Rules that reshaped Hungary\u2019s crypto market<\/h2>\n