Hungary is walking back a crypto rule set that briefly turned compliance into criminal exposure.
NewsData.io reports that the rollback fully reverses legislation that took effect July 1, 2025. That law followed parliament approval and introduced criminal penalties for using unlicensed exchanges and for certain unauthorized high-value crypto transactions.
The earlier rules set prison terms based on transaction size. NewsData.io says transactions between 50 million Hungarian forints (about $162,000) and 500 million forints (about $1.62 million) could bring prison time of up to two or five years depending on the transaction value. For service providers operating without a central bank license, NewsData.io adds sentences could reach up to eight years.
The mechanism was also strict. NewsData.io says the rules required approved validation for both crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto conversions. In practice, that burden made some platforms shut the door. NewsData.io names Revolut as an example, saying it suspended crypto services in Hungary. It also says the EU launched an investigation into whether the restrictions matched bloc-wide requirements.
What the July 2025 law changed, and why it hit trading
NewsData.io frames the rollout as a compliance cliff rather than a light-touch regulatory tweak.
The need for approved validation for conversions meant businesses and platforms had to build around a narrow permission structure. NewsData.io reports that domestic trading volumes fell, with local firms absorbing steep compliance costs. That matters because it suggests liquidity didn’t just shift. It shrank under the weight of the new requirement.
Hungary’s previous approach was also politically contested. NewsData.io cites Hungary’s Minister of Science and Technology Zoltán Tanács, describing the safeguards as “politically motivated” rather than market safeguards. That framing is doing real work here. It signals the policy change is not only technical alignment. It is also a reversal of the political rationale behind the prior enforcement posture.
The reversal plan and the new deadlines to watch
NewsData.io says the new administration plans to abolish criminal prosecution for market participants. That is the headline shift. The earlier law used criminal terms as the stick. The rollback removes that stick for the category “market participants,” while also touching other compliance areas.
The same source says Hungary will revise cybersecurity rules affecting approximately 4,000 Hungarian businesses subject to the NIS2 directive. Separately, NewsData.io reports the government intends to align national law with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.
Officials have also reportedly identified Estonia as a template. NewsData.io does not provide details in the excerpt on which parts. Still, the direction is clear: Hungary is trying to match EU-level frameworks rather than run a parallel criminalization model.
Key figures from the prior criminalization rules
| Item | What the July 1, 2025 rules said | Source |
|---|---|---|
| High-value transaction range | 50M to 500M HUF, with prison time up to 2 or 5 years depending on value | NewsData.io |
| Central bank licensing for providers | Operating without a central bank license could bring up to 8 years | NewsData.io |
| Validation requirement | Approved validation required for both crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto conversions | NewsData.io |
| Platform impact mentioned | Revolut suspended crypto services in Hungary | NewsData.io |
| EU response mentioned | EU probe into whether restrictions complied with bloc-wide regulations | NewsData.io |
| Business impact mentioned | Domestic trading volumes fell as local firms absorbed compliance costs | NewsData.io |
What this means for Hungary’s compliance posture
This reversal is not just about decriminalizing a process. It changes the enforcement gravity.
Under the July 2025 framework described by NewsData.io, users and firms faced the risk of prison tied to transaction categories and provider licensing. NewsData.io’s account of platforms pausing services suggests the rules were hard to operationalize quickly and safely, at least for major operators.
The new administration’s plan, as NewsData.io reports, moves the center of gravity toward EU-aligned regulation and away from criminal prosecution for market participants. That could reduce the immediate deterrent effect on liquidity.
But the story doesn’t end with criminal penalties being scrapped. NewsData.io says cybersecurity rules tied to NIS2 will be revised for about 4,000 businesses, and national crypto law will be aligned with MiCA. Those steps still impose obligations. They just change the risk profile.
For readers watching deadlines, the key items to track are the removal of criminal prosecution for market participants and the mechanics of how Hungary will implement MiCA-aligned rules after the July 2025 reversal. NewsData.io also flags revision of cybersecurity rules, which may affect compliance timelines for companies outside pure crypto trading.
The EU probe also sits in the background. NewsData.io says it was triggered by questions over compliance with bloc-wide regulations. A policy reversal like this tends to follow, rather than lead, those compliance questions.