Hungary is softening its approach to cryptocurrency regulation after lawmakers voted to scrap a controversial transaction validation requirement that had driven several crypto firms out of the market.
The change comes just as CoinCash, one of Hungary’s largest crypto platforms, prepares to restart services after becoming the country’s first company to receive a licence under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.
According to Hungarian tax and legal publication Ado.hu, Parliament has voted to repeal the country’s crypto validator requirement, eliminating the need for certain crypto transactions to be approved by a licensed third party before they can be completed.
Finance Minister Kármán András said the government decided to reverse course after the rules proved too burdensome for the industry.
“Due to the negative and market-shaking regulations so far, many players have terminated their services related to cryptocurrencies in Hungary, but the market is now showing signs of recovery,” András wrote in a Facebook post.
Hungary reverses course on crypto regulation
The repeal marks a significant shift for Hungary, which had previously adopted some of the strictest crypto rules in the European Union.
The validation requirement was introduced under the country’s 2024 crypto assets law and took effect on July 1, 2025. It required licensed validators to verify details such as the origin of crypto assets, wallet ownership and customer information before issuing a compliance declaration for certain transactions.
The process effectively added another layer of oversight on top of MiCA’s existing requirements.
Hungary fast-tracked MiCA compliance
Hungary also chose to shorten MiCA’s transition period for crypto asset service providers. While EU member states were allowed to give companies until July 1, 2026 to comply with the new rules, Hungary required firms to meet the standards by July 1, 2025.
Those tougher requirements prompted several companies to rethink their operations in the country.
Among them was Budapest-based CoinCash, which voluntarily suspended services in December 2025 while it worked to secure MiCA authorisation.
That process has now been completed. On July 20, the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) granted CoinCash operator Tiwala Solutions a licence under MiCA, making it the first Hungarian company to receive approval directly from the country’s central bank.
“We’re the first and only Hungarian company authorised directly by the National Bank under the EU framework,” CoinCash co-founder Gábor Galántai said in a LinkedIn post.
The licence allows CoinCash to offer custody services, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto trading, transfers, investment advice and portfolio management.
The company said it underwent months of regulatory reviews before receiving approval and plans to gradually restore services while expanding into new MiCA-regulated offerings.
Although Hungary is removing the additional validation step, the broader regulatory framework remains in place. Crypto companies will still need to comply with MiCA’s licensing, consumer protection and anti-money laundering requirements.
For the local industry, however, the policy reversal is likely to be welcomed. By removing an extra layer of bureaucracy while keeping the EU’s core regulatory safeguards, Hungary appears to be signalling that it wants to support innovation without placing domestic crypto firms at a competitive disadvantage.
