Crypto & Digital Assets · Hungary
Crypto license in Hungary: MiCA CASP requirements (2026)
Hungary shaded by its crypto & digital assets status
Crypto is regulated in Hungary.
FrameworkEU Regulation 2023/1114 (MiCA) transposed by Act VII of 2024 on Crypto-Asset Markets, plus national crypto-asset conversion validation regime under SARA Decree 10/2025; supervised by Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), with the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH/SARA) overseeing validators.
Crypto is legal in Hungary and comprehensively regulated under MiCA, transposed via Act VII of 2024 with the MNB as the competent authority for CASP authorisation, ART/EMT issuers and market-abuse supervision. Hungary chose a short six-month MiCA transition (ending 1 July 2025) and layered a uniquely strict national overlay on top: from 27 December 2025, every crypto-to-fiat or crypto-to-crypto exchange must carry a 'validation certificate' from an SZTFH-licensed validator, with criminal penalties (up to 8 years' imprisonment) for unauthorised exchanges. The validator regime triggered several foreign exchanges to suspend Hungarian services.
How to get a crypto license in Hungary
To provide crypto-asset services in Hungary you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
- Authority
- the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB)
- License required
- a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider)
- Framework / law
- the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V
- Minimum capital
- €50,000–€150,000 minimum, by service class (Class 1/2/3)
- Timeline
- about 40 working days of substantive review; 1–3 months for a well-prepared application
- Cost
- an application fee of roughly €5,000–€25,000, plus ongoing supervisory fees
- Passporting
- Yes — a single MiCA CASP licence passports across all 27 EU member states.
What a crypto license in Hungary covers
- Custody and administration of crypto-assets for clients
- Operating a trading platform for crypto-assets
- Exchanging crypto-assets for funds, or for other crypto-assets
- Executing orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
- Reception and transmission of orders, and placing of crypto-assets
- Advice and portfolio management on crypto-assets
- Transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients
How to get a crypto license in Hungary: step by step
- 1Incorporate a legal entity with a registered office in the member state, with at least one director resident in the EU.
- 2Build the application file: programme of operations, business plan, governance, AML/CFT, ICT resilience and client-asset segregation.
- 3Submit the application to the national competent authority.
- 4Completeness check: the authority has 25 working days to confirm the file is complete and request anything missing.
- 5Substantive assessment: the authority has 40 working days to grant or refuse the authorisation.
- 6Once authorised, notify the passport to the host member states you intend to serve, then begin operating across the EU.
Documents required in Hungary
- Programme of operations describing each crypto-asset service you will provide
- Business plan with three-year financial projections
- Evidence of prudential safeguards (own funds or qualifying insurance)
- Governance arrangements, organisational chart and internal-control description
- AML/CFT policies and the appointment of a compliance officer
- ICT security, business-continuity and DORA-aligned resilience policies
- Custody and client-asset segregation arrangements
- Complaints-handling procedure and conflict-of-interest policy
- Fit-and-proper evidence for directors and qualifying shareholders (CVs, criminal-record certificates)
After authorisation: ongoing obligations in Hungary
- Maintain prudential safeguards and own funds at or above the class minimum
- Keep client crypto-assets segregated from the firm's own assets
- Run continuous AML/CFT monitoring, screening and suspicious-activity reporting
- Keep marketing communications fair, clear and not misleading
- Operate complaints handling and manage conflicts of interest
- Meet ICT resilience and incident-reporting duties under DORA
- File periodic reports to the national competent authority
Crypto license in Hungary: FAQ
Yes. To provide crypto-asset services in Hungary you need a MiCA CASP authorisation (Crypto-Asset Service Provider), supervised by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB), under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), Title V.
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB).
An application fee of roughly €5,000–€25,000, plus ongoing supervisory fees.
Typically about 40 working days of substantive review; 1–3 months for a well-prepared application.
The application file centres on programme of operations describing each crypto-asset service you will provide; business plan with three-year financial projections; evidence of prudential safeguards (own funds or qualifying insurance); governance arrangements, organisational chart and internal-control description; plus fit-and-proper evidence for directors and qualifying shareholders.
Incorporate a legal entity with a registered office in the member state, with at least one director resident in the EU. Build the application file: programme of operations, business plan, governance, AML/CFT, ICT resilience and client-asset segregation. The authority then assesses the file and, once authorised, you can begin operating.
Yes — a single MiCA CASP licence passports across all 27 EU member states.
Key points
Hungary's Crypto-Asset Markets Act (Act VII of 2024) transposed MiCA: ART/EMT issuer rules applied from 30 June 2024 and CASP authorisation from 30 December 2024, with a national transitional regime ending 1 July 2025, after which only MNB-authorised CASPs may operate.
The Magyar Nemzeti Bank (central bank) authorises and supervises CASPs and ART/EMT issuers, with full powers to warn, fine, suspend, prohibit activity, and restrict online content for violations.
Decree 10/2025 (X.27.) of the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SZTFH/SARA) requires every crypto-asset exchange to carry a compliance certificate from a SARA-licensed validator; SARA registered the first validators (Caduceus Zrt., Mikroháló Kft.) by 2026.
Using an unauthorised crypto exchange service for transactions ≥ HUF 5 million is a criminal offence: up to 2 years (HUF 5-50m), 5 years (HUF 50-500m), or 8 years (>HUF 500m). Penalties apply to both providers and clients.
An MNB decree effective July 2025 imposes detailed AML duties including obligatory checks on whether self-hosted wallets are controlled by the originator/beneficiary, plus an EU/UN sanctions screening system for supervised providers.
The validator regime has caused multiple foreign exchanges (e.g., Kriptomat) to suspend trading services for Hungarian residents, and a domestic campaign ('Stop Kriptovalidáció') is contesting the rules.
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