Hungary plans to decriminalize routine crypto trading

TLDR

Hungarys new government is moving to remove criminal penalties for routine crypto trading and align rules with European Union standards.

1. Authorities plan to scrap 2025 laws that attached prison terms to many crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transactions.
2. The shift should ease legal risk for Hungarian users and could entice platforms like Revolut back, under a clearer MiCA-style licensing regime.
3. Specific legislation still has to pass, so users should watch the parliamentary process and details on licensing, taxation, and AML rules.

Deep Dive

1. What Hungary Is Changing

In 2025, Hungary introduced one of the EUs harshest crypto regimes, requiring a government-approved validation certificate for almost every crypto conversion, both crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto. Transactions without this certificate were deemed unauthorised crypto-transactions and could carry prison terms, with individuals facing up to 25 years depending on size, and service providers up to 8 years in serious cases, according to reporting summarized by Cointelegraph and others.

Government spokesperson Anita Kbl has now said the Tisza administration will unwind these measures, calling them unnecessary and saying they made practical operation impossible and frightened market participants, affecting several hundred thousand people. Multiple outlets report that the plan is to fully decriminalize trading and remove jail terms for ordinary users and providers while replacing the framework with new rules aligned to the EUs Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime.

2. Impact On Users And Platforms

The 2025 rules prompted platforms including Revolut to suspend or exit crypto services in Hungary and contributed to a sharp drop in local trading volumes, as described in reports from Crypto.news and others. Roughly 500,000 Hungarians were estimated to be involved in crypto activities when the crackdown hit.

By decriminalizing trading and aligning with MiCA, the new government aims to remove the legal overhang that discouraged both retail users and service providers. In practice, this could:

1. Make it easier for major centralized platforms to re-enter the market.
2. Reduce the risk that normal trading activity is treated as a criminal matter.
3. Bring Hungarian oversight in line with other EU markets, which rely on licensing and supervision rather than transaction-level criminalization.

3. What To Watch Next

Several uncertainties remain:

1. Timing: Reports suggest a MiCA-aligned framework is being drafted, but an exact parliamentary timeline and effective dates are not yet clear.
2. Scope: Decriminalization targets criminal penalties; civil, tax, and anti-money-laundering obligations will still apply and could be strict.
3. Market response: The extent to which platforms return and liquidity recovers will depend on how user friendly and predictable the new licensing regime looks once published.

For crypto users in or exposed to Hungary, the key signals will be the text of the new law, guidance from the national regulator, and fresh listing or re-entry announcements from major exchanges and fintechs.

Conclusion

Hungary is pivoting from a uniquely punitive crypto regime that criminalized many routine transactions to a more standard EU-style approach built around MiCA. If the legal changes proceed as described, the main effect should be removal of jail-risk overhang and a clearer path for regulated platforms, though users will still need to navigate taxation and compliance requirements rather than assume a regulatory free-for-all.