Hungary Scraps Tough Crypto Rules After Repeal Vote

Hungary's parliament has approved legislation to repeal national crypto-asset requirements that had been in place since MiCA was introduced. This change follows CoinCash becoming the first Hungary-based provider to receive a MiCA licence, which it received on July 20 after a 16-month review process.

The additional domestic requirements for crypto providers included needing a national 'validator' to certify individual transactions and imposing criminal penalties of up to two years' imprisonment for providing unauthorised exchange services. Several firms had suspended or withdrawn services in Hungary due to these rules, including Revolut, MoonPay, Strike, and Kriptomat.

CoinCash itself was forced to suspend operations for seven months while the National Bank of Hungary worked through multiple rounds of review, but its co-founder and CEO Attila Mogyorósi said their decision to meet 'one of Europe's toughest regimes head-on' had paid off in securing the MiCA licence.