Hungary Cracks Down Hard: 2-Year Prison Sentences for Illegal Crypto Trading—Is This the Future of Regulation?

Hungary just dropped a regulatory hammer—unauthorized crypto traders now face up to 2 years behind bars. The move shocks libertarian circles but signals growing global scrutiny.

Why the draconian penalty? Officials cite "investor protection"—though cynics note it’s easier to tax what you can track. Meanwhile, decentralized exchanges shrug—their code doesn’t recognize borders.

Will this chill innovation or clean up the Wild West? Either way, Budapest’s courts are about to get busy. Just don’t expect Bitcoin maximalists to care—they’ve been ignoring governments since 2009.

• According to a document shared by the governmental bodies guiding the Hungarian criminal codes, anyone caught making use of unauthorized crypto platforms for crypto trading would be jailed for two years.
• Revolut In reaction to this, the new law has stopped operations in Hungary with no actual date of bringing back operations.

Hungary has established a new law against the use of cryptocurrency. According to local news, about 500,000 citizens of the country have some sort of connection with crypto, and this new law stands to affect them. According to the details shared by the local news outlet, only those who are authorized can make use of cryptocurrency for trading and other reasons.

Hungary New Crypto Trading Regulations

On the 1st of July 2025, the Hungarian government published a document containing the criminal codes guiding the country. According to the details, the criminal code places a ban on citizens’ ability to trade cryptocurrencies.

The code states that anyone caught trading cryptocurrencies with an unrecognized crypto exchange platform has committed a misdemeanor and would be charged with two years imprisonment. This amount is between 5 million and 50 million forints. The code also states that an individual would be charged with three years imprisonment if the offense (i.e., the crypto trading) involves a large amount of money.

Revolut Stops Operation in Response to Crypto Trading Ban

Revolut, a British-based fintech company that focuses on simulating traditional bank services with crypto, has officially stopped operations in Hungary. On July 9, a local news outlet shared details of Revolut’s decision to stop operating in Hungary.

The company temporarily freezes all forms of operations for Hungary users. The platform still allows users to make transfers to external wallets, but it has stopped users from being able to deposit, stake, and purchase anything on the app.

The platform added that it took this step in order to comply with the local legislation, and there is so far no date allocated for the restoration of all the crypto services on the platform.