Temporary suspension of trading services in Hungary

Temporary suspension of trading services in Hungary due to new local regulatory requirements

1. What is changing

From 26 December 2025, 23:00 CET, Kriptomat will temporarily restrict the following services for customers in Hungary:

• Buy
• Sell
• Exchange (crypto↔crypto)
• Buy with card
• KriptoEarn
• Intelligent Portfolios

Customers can still access their accounts and withdraw existing fiat and crypto balances.

2. Why we are making this change
   

Hungary is implementing a new national crypto-asset validation regime that becomes applicable on 27 December 2025. Under this framework, crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto conversions must be validated by an authorised crypto-asset validator supervised by the Hungarian Authority for the Supervision of Regulated Activities (SZTFH) before the conversion can be executed. 

In parallel, Hungary has introduced criminal law provisions related to unauthorised crypto-asset exchange services and certain crypto-asset abuses. This creates an elevated compliance and legal risk environment for service providers and, potentially, users. 

While Kriptomat is regulated in Estonia and is in the process of obtaining approval under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation, we concluded that the current Hungarian regulatory environment creates risks that we cannot currently mitigate in a reliable and scalable way.

Legal references (plain language, not legal advice)

The new Hungarian framework described above is set out in:

• Act VII of 2024 on crypto-asset markets (Hungarian “Crypto Act”), introducing the domestic framework for crypto-asset markets and validation

• Decree 10/2025 (X.27.) of SZTFH on crypto-asset validation services and validator requirements
• Act LXVII of 2025 amending the Hungarian Criminal Code, introducing specific crypto-related offences (including unauthorised exchange services) 

This post is a general customer communication and does not constitute legal advice.

3. Why are we not able to keep offering our services in Hungary right now

Hungary’s new rules mean that crypto buy/sell/exchange transactions must be approved by a licensed “validator” before they can go through. Right now, that system is not workable in practice: as of 19–21 December 2025, only one validator is listed in the public register, so there is no realistic way for us to run trading reliably and at scale. 

On top of that, the legal and enforcement risk has increased. Continuing to offer trading in this situation would mean accepting uncertainty we cannot control and cannot properly reduce in the time available. That is not acceptable for customer protection or for our business, so we are pausing trading services for Hungary.

We support clear rules and a single, consistent EU framework. Since 2018, we have followed all relevant laws as part of our mission to make investing accessible to everyone, with a special focus on Central and Eastern Europe—because everyone deserves the chance to grow their wealth and improve their quality of life. The Hungarian market is important to us, and we intend to bring services back as soon as there is a fully compliant and practically workable way to do so.

4. What customers should do
   

• If you want to trade (buy, sell, exchange, buy with card), please finalise your trades before 26 December 2025,  23:00 CET.
• After the cut-off, you can withdraw your existing fiat and crypto balances.
  
  

5. What happens next
   

We are monitoring the Hungarian environment closely and assessing the path to restoring services in Hungary under a fully compliant model. We will provide updates as soon as we have a clear and workable way to do so.

6. FAQ (optional, recommended for support deflection)
   

• Can I still access my account? Yes.
• Can I withdraw my fiat and crypto after 26 December? Yes, withdrawals of existing balances remain available.
• Can I deposit or trade after 26 December? Trading is restricted; please refer to the in-app notices for the latest status.
• How long will this last? We are treating it as temporary and will update customers as soon as we can restore services compliantly.
• Does this affect customers outside Hungary? No, this notice applies to customers in Hungary.