Hungary Plans to Decriminalize Cryptocurrency Trading After Orban’s Departure (Report)

It has been nearly two months since the pivotal elections in Hungary, in which Viktor Orban’s 16-year tenure finally came to an end, as the country showed a clear shift toward the West.

The new government has taken numerous steps to neutralize some of the controversial policies undertaken by the former administration, and the local cryptocurrency space could be among the beneficiaries.

The rules against cryptocurrency trading were introduced by the Orban administration in 2025. They required approved validation for transactions converting digital assets to traditional currency and for crypto-to-crypto exchanges. Even more controversially, the rules included possible prison sentences in some extreme cases of violations.

A Forbes report at the time claimed that transactions for over $140,000 (50 million forints) carried a possible prison sentence of up to three years. Largest transactions for over $1.4 million (500 million forints) could lead to five years behind bars.

Numerous popular trading platforms were forced to leave the country or restrict their services for locals to a large extent. Although the European Union opened an investigation to determine whether these restrictions complied with its regulations, the local trading volumes plunged before the administration change earlier this year.

According to a new report from Bloomberg, the new government has decided to lift the threat of jail time and criminal charges for using unauthorized exchanges or conducting non-compliant crypto-to-crypto and crypto-to-fiat transactions.

Government spokeswoman Anita Kobol said that Hungary will dismantle the transaction-level ‘validation certificate’ requirement and plans to align the local market with the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

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