Hungary’s recently appointed Minister of Science and Technology, Zoltán Tanács, announced on June 6 that the country will lift what he described as unjustified restrictions on the crypto assets market. The move represents a sharp reversal from the previous government’s approach, which included criminal penalties for unauthorized crypto services.
The announcement also flagged potential changes to cybersecurity auditor regulations under the NIS2 directive, a shift that could affect roughly 4,000 Hungarian companies facing a June 30 compliance deadline.
What the previous government built, and what’s being torn down
Rules that took effect on July 1, 2025, introduced criminal penalties for providing unauthorized crypto services. Service suspensions hit the Hungarian market, with platforms like Revolut pulling back from offering crypto services in the country. Local firms found themselves shouldering elevated compliance costs that their competitors in friendlier jurisdictions simply didn’t face.
Tanács, who was appointed to his ministerial role in May 2026 following the new government’s formation after April elections, has framed these rules as politically motivated rather than prudent regulation. His position signals that the incoming TISZA-led government views the previous crypto framework as an obstacle to competitiveness rather than a safeguard.
