On July 28, the Hungarian Parliament passed Bill T/305, scrapping the controversial crypto verifier rule that had been in place since 2025. The vote was 143-46 with one abstention. The old law required government-approved verifiers to clear every crypto trade, checking asset sources and wallet ownership — a system that Finance Minister András Kármán admitted 'disrupted the market' and pushed major providers like Revolut, eToro, and CoinCash to halt or limit operations.
Why the old law failed
The 2025 rules under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government were meant to crack down on crypto abuse. Transactions between 5-15 million forints ($15k-$150k) could land you up to two years in prison; higher amounts carried up to five years. But the verifier requirement created a bottleneck. Very few firms bothered to get licensed as validators. The result? A market freeze. Kármán said the rules disrupted the market so badly that providers simply stopped serving Hungarian users.
EU infringement and MiCA alignment
The European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Hungary's crypto laws earlier in 2026, arguing they conflicted with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The new bill doesn't remove or restrict existing MiCA compliance guidelines — crypto oversight remains in place. Supporters of the repeal point out that anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements are still covered by MiCA. The move brings Hungary back in line with EU standards.
The cost of the crackdown
The numbers tell the story. According to PwC, 74% of active Hungarian crypto users traded with Revolut. When Revolut ceased local operations, the number of citizens trading crypto fell by 80,000 — a 38% drop. That's a huge chunk of the market gone in less than a year. The repeal is expected to encourage crypto operators to re-enter Hungary, signaling a crypto-friendly environment that's compliant with EU laws.
Opponents warn of loopholes
Not everyone is happy. Opponents of the bill argue that repealing the regulations creates opportunities for money laundering and financing by terrorist groups or political parties. They say the verifier rule was a necessary safeguard. Supporters counter that MiCA already handles AML and KYC, and that the old system was so restrictive it drove legitimate business away — leaving users with no regulated options at all.
The repeal takes effect immediately. Operators like Revolut have not yet announced a return, but the legal barrier is gone. The question now is whether they'll trust Hungary's crypto environment enough to come back.
