By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau reporting from Budapest, Hungary
BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Hungary has become the first European Union nation to effectively ban cryptocurrency trading for most people, prompting Revolut, one of Europe’s largest online-only banks, to suspend its crypto services in the country.
An estimated 500,000 people in Hungary owning one or more crypto assets are impacted by hastily introduced legislation providing lengthy prison terms for violators.
Though holding crypto is not forbidden, selling or exchanging it can no longer be done legally. Since no licensed Hungarian exchanges exist, practically anyone trying to convert crypto into traditional currency would commit a criminal offense.
Two new crimes were added to the Criminal Code as part of a larger legislative package, strictly regulating the exchange and distribution of cryptocurrencies.
Critics say that the “T/11922/13 Bill,” passed last month, does not specify “what specific licenses are required” to trade crypto legally and how to obtain them.
The law effectively criminalises an activity that cannot currently be legally carried out, including by those who bought crypto with their already taxed earnings.
PRISON TERMS
Instead, anyone operating a crypto exchange service without “a license” faces prison terms of up to eight years.
However, users of these services can also be prosecuted. Someone selling Bitcoin through an unlicensed platform could face between two and five years behind bars, “depending on the amount involved.”
Large transactions of over 50 million Hungarian forints (nearly $147,000) carry a potential three-year prison term, while amounts exceeding 500 million forints (almost $1.470 million) have a five-year imprisonment sentence.
With the impact of the law becoming clear” We regret to inform you that we’ve temporarily paused Revolut Crypto services until further notice in Hungary, effective immediately,” Revolut wrote to its customers in an email.
While other “Revolut services won’t be affected by this change,” it warned that “
“We’re unable to provide [several crypto] services right now due to recent changes in Hungarian legislation — but we’re working hard to ensure that these services can be resumed as soon as possible.”
NO BUYING
Revolut said it would not allow “any buy orders” and the “stake of new assets”, a reward system to help crypto run smoother, while “deposits will be rejected.”
It claimed that users could still “sell crypto” or “withdraw crypto to an external wallet” when available. However, several Worthy News tests showed this not to be the case.
Revolut initially told Worthy News it may be a “technical glitch,” but it appeared that the company was following legal guidelines from Hungary’s government. A customer representative admitted to Worthy News that “we have done more than we communicated due to the Hungarian legislation.”
It was not immediately clear how the effective freezing of assets would impact Revolut’s customer base, which reached a $45 billion valuation last year, rivaling some of Europe’s largest lenders.
The Britain and Lithuania-based online bank now claims more than 60 million customers worldwide through its popular mobile applications.
The crypto controversy comes as right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán searches for cash to fulfill campaign promises and turn around the economy ahead of elections next year.
BILLIONS FROZEN
With his Fidesz party consistently trailing in opinion polls, Orbán could use the roughly 19 billion euros ($22 billion) in EU funding currently frozen over corruption and rule of law concerns.
Critics say that targeting crypto sends a message that cryptocurrency isn’t welcome in Hungary and seems a warning to potential tax dodgers.
The opposition says it also fits in with a strategy in which the increasingly authoritarian Orbán government seeks to control banking, media, the judiciary, and other aspects of society.
Yet by effectively banning crypto trading, Hungary seems to join at least 10 other countries where crypto trading has been banned or restricted, including China, Russia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, and Nepal.
The controversy comes as the Hungarian central bank’s Deputy Governor Zoltán Kurali said this month there “will be no crypto in any shape or form,” in the bank’s reserves, which stood at 45.8 billion euros ($54.0 billion) late May, consisting mainly of euro-denominated assets and gold.
It was unclear Tuesday when and if Hungary will allow at least some licensed cryptocurrency trading amid concerns in the industry about EU attempts to increase government control over crypto, following the example of other nations.
Orbán’s crypto move is remarkable as his close ally, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, seeks deregulation of crypto and wants to make it an essential part of America’s treasury.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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