The Hungarian Parliament has passed a bill abolishing the mandatory "validator" requirement for certain crypto transactions. The government stated that this local supplementary rule had led to the exit or suspension of operations by several crypto companies and had also suppressed domestic trading activity. With this adjustment, Hungary's regulatory direction is moving closer to the EU's MiCA framework.
The old regulations added an additional layer of approval.
This system stems from Hungary's cryptocurrency law passed in 2024. Starting July 1, 2025, certain cryptocurrency-to-fiat and cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency transactions must be reviewed by a local licensed verification agency before they become legally valid.
According to the regulations at the time, verification agencies were required to check the origin of digital assets, confirm wallet ownership, verify customer identities, and issue a compliance statement. In other words, Hungary added a local approval process in addition to MiCA.
Hungary has also shortened the transition period to July 1, 2025, while the EU originally allowed member states to extend it until July 1, 2026 at the latest. This allows local crypto service providers to enter the full compliance phase sooner.
The old framework included criminal liability.
Previous legal revisions also brought certain crypto activities under criminal liability. Providing unauthorized crypto exchange services, or conducting transactions without completing the verification process, could trigger criminal penalties.
According to rules previously cited by local media, individuals who use unauthorized encryption services and whose transactions amount between 5 million and 50 million forints could face up to two years in prison; the sentence would increase for higher amounts.
Government officials have signaled adjustments on several occasions in recent months. Hungary has stated that the old regulations hampered trading activity and prompted some platforms to reduce their local operations. The EU has also investigated whether these rules comply with EU law.
CoinCash obtains its first license
Amid the policy shift, Budapest-based CoinCash completed its MiCA license application. According to the company's disclosure, the National Bank of Hungary granted authorization to its operating entity, Tiwala Solutions, on July 20.
The co-founder of CoinCash stated that this is the first local company to receive direct authorization from the Hungarian Central Bank's MiCA. This authorization covers services including custody, crypto-to-fiat currency exchange, crypto-to-asset trading, digital asset transfers, investment advice, and portfolio management.
CoinCash had previously voluntarily suspended operations in December 2025 to complete MiCA compliance preparations. The company stated that it will gradually resume its crypto services and expand to more MiCA-regulated products once it obtains authorization.
During the implementation of the old regulations, Revolut suspended its crypto services in Hungary, and some digital asset companies considered relocating to Estonia and Lithuania. With the abolition of the validator system and the proposed removal of related criminal penalties, the access environment for the Hungarian crypto market is recovering.
