Six months ago, trading crypto in Hungary could land you in prison. Now the government is tearing up those same rules.

Hungary announced on June 11 that it will decriminalize digital asset trading, reversing one of Europe’s harshest crypto crackdowns. The move dismantles a regulatory framework that imposed prison sentences of up to eight years for service providers and up to five years for individual users caught conducting unauthorized crypto transactions.

The about-face didn’t happen out of the goodness of anyone’s heart. The European Union forced Hungary’s hand by launching infringement proceedings against the country, arguing that its homegrown crypto rules conflicted with MiCA, the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation that serves as the bloc’s unified framework for digital assets.

What Hungary tried to do, and why it failed

Under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary enacted sweeping crypto restrictions that took full effect on December 27, 2025. The rules built on the country’s 2024 Act VII, commonly known as the Crypto Act, by layering on unique national validation requirements and criminal penalties.

Every single crypto transaction, whether you were swapping Bitcoin for euros or trading one token for another, required a compliance certificate from a licensed validator. No certificate, no legal trade. Violate the rules, and you were looking at years behind bars.

The practical consequences were immediate and severe. Major platforms like Revolut suspended services in Hungary rather than navigate the compliance maze. Trading volumes across the sector plummeted.

Government spokeswoman Anita Kobol confirmed that the policy reversal came directly in response to the EU’s infringement proceedings.

What this means for investors and the Hungarian market

For anyone with exposure to Central European crypto markets, the immediate implication is straightforward: liquidity is coming back to Hungary. Platforms that suspended services under the old regime now have a path to re-enter, and trading volumes that evaporated over the past six months should begin recovering.

Revolut’s service suspension was probably the most visible casualty of the 2025 crackdown. Whether and how quickly major platforms restore full functionality in Hungary will be the first concrete signal of how the market responds.

The removal of criminal penalties is the headline, but the deeper question is what replaces the old framework. Decriminalizing trading is not the same as creating a clear, stable regulatory environment. Hungary still needs to establish rules that comply with MiCA while providing enough clarity for service providers to operate with confidence.