Hungary repeals crypto-asset conversion validation regime
Please confirm you are human to start the audio.
The Hungarian Parliament has passed Act XXXVIII of 2026 on the Repeal of Certain Statutory Provisions Concerning Crypto-Asset Conversion Services, abolishing the crypto-asset conversion validation obligation and its associated criminal sanctions, which went into force on 7 August 2026.
The Act reversed the regime introduced in 2025, removing the requirement for crypto-asset conversions to be certified by an authorised validation service provider.
The following article explores the impact of these changes.
No more mandatory validation of crypto-asset conversion transactions
The Act makes extensive amendments to the Hungarian Crypto Markets Act, repealing the relevant definitions, core validation obligation, dedicated procedural subtitles and enforcement provisions. As a result of these amendments, no validation will be obligatory for any crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-fiat conversion.
Decriminalisation
The Act amends the Hungarian Criminal Code by repealing the offences of “Abuse of crypto-assets” and “Unauthorised crypto-asset exchange service provision”. Engaging in crypto-asset conversions without a declaration of conformity no longer carries criminal liability for the service provider or users.
SARA’s crypto-related supervisory powers ends
The Act also amends the Supervisory Authority for Regulatory Affairs (SARA) Act by repealing SARA’s authority to license and supervise crypto-asset conversion validation service providers. By 12 August 2026, SARA was obliged to terminate all ongoing licensing and supervisory proceedings relating to the validation of crypto-asset conversion services ex officio and validation service providers. SARA was also ordered to irrecoverably delete all data collected in connection with crypto-asset conversions and unauthorised crypto transactions.
Practical impact
The Act’s preamble identifies two bases for the repeal.
First, the validation requirement constitutes a restriction on competition and is incompatible with the EU’s internal market. Second, the uniform regulatory framework established by the EU in Crypto-Assets Regulation already ensured that customers could access crypto-asset services in a safe, transparent and traceable manner, making the additional national validation layer redundant.
For market participants, the Act signals a clear policy reversal. Because the Act entered into force on 7 August 2026, entities that have undertaken the gap analysis and required compliance investment are no longer required to maintain this infrastructure for validation purposes.
Payment institutions, crypto-asset service providers and intermediaries that have in-scope conversions routed to authorised validators should now unwind those processes.
For more information on the Act and crypto-currency regulations in Hungary, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts who wrote this article.
The article was co-authored by János Bálint and Péter Virányi.
