In brief
- Hungary’s updated criminal code imposes penalties up to 8 years in prison for unlicensed crypto exchange operators and up to 5 years for large-scale traders.
- The law targets illegal operations while allowing compliant exchanges to continue operating, though unclear implementation details have created market uncertainty.
- EU-licensed exchanges will be able to operate in Hungary once MiCA regulations take full effect by 2026.
Hungary’s newly updated laws on cryptocurrency trading could have a negative impact on the domestic crypto market, according to the Blockchain Hungary Association.
Kornél Kalocsai, the association’s president, was largely welcoming of the updated criminal code while speaking with Decrypt. The new…
Jan 14 2026
