Hungary Plans to Scrap Criminal Penalties for Unlicensed Crypto Trades

Hungary plans to roll back rules that imposed criminal penalties for unlicensed virtual-asset, or cryptocurrency, transactions.

Cointelegraph reported on June 11 that Anita Köböl, a spokesperson for Hungary’s Tisza party government, told a press briefing the administration intends to abolish the approval system for crypto conversions introduced last year, along with related criminal sanctions.

The law was unnecessary legislation, Köböl said. It made practical operations impossible and discouraged market participants. The criminal provisions also hurt hundreds of thousands of users, she added. The European Union has been examining the legality of the rules, and the new government is conducting a full review of the system.

The measure was part of an amendment to Hungary’s crypto law that took effect in July 2025. Under the rules, anyone converting crypto into fiat currency or another virtual asset had to obtain a certificate from a government-approved verification service provider.

Transactions carried out without that certificate were deemed unauthorized. Depending on the size of the trade, offenders could face prison terms of up to eight years. Following the change, some platforms, including Revolut, suspended crypto services in Hungary.