CryptoSlate
Hungary repealed the extra crypto authorization regime it added in 2025 after the European Commission opened an infringement procedure arguing the rule had no basis under MiCA. Act XXXVIII of 2026 took effect on Aug. 7, and its explanatory memorandum acknowledged the requirement was incompatible with EU crypto regulation. Bitvavo moved first, announcing the return of trading and euro deposits for Hungarian customers with new registrations reopening on Sept. 7. Revolut's Hungarian help page, checked on Nov. 13, still described a crypto shutdown tied to a Dec. 18, 2025 sell-and-close deadline.
Why it matters
The episode is the first real stress test of MiCA's passport, which under Article 59(7) lets an authorized company serve the entire EU from a single home-country license, with services live within 15 days of notifying regulators. The Commission defended that passport against a member state that tried to layer criminal penalties on top of it, and Hungary folded before a court ruling. For exchanges, that is a meaningful precedent: the framework holds against national overreach.
But the win is legal, not yet practical. Revolut obtained MiCA authorization in Cyprus in October 2025, yet its Hungarian customers spent months reading a shutdown notice that outlived the law behind it. Meanwhile Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitvavo each split trading, payments, and e-money across separate Irish, Luxembourgish, and Cypriot entities, so the same app can hand a customer a different rulebook on every screen.
Market impact
The residual friction now lives in operational details MiCA permits rather than forbids. Coinbase's Easy Bank Transfer covers five countries while card deposits are limited to three; Polish users get BLIK, Dutch Kraken users get iDEAL, and German card deposits sit in a different column. Rejecting a valid account purely over a foreign IBAN can amount to discrimination under SEPA rules, but proving it requires evidence public guides do not provide.
Watch whether the Commission or ESMA pushes providers to clean up stale country notices and harmonize funding rails, and whether Hungary's reversal deters other member states from bolting on local permission regimes. For investors, the direction is clear: Europe's single crypto market is real, and the enforcement behind it just proved it has teeth.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did Hungary drop its extra crypto authorization requirements?
The European Commission opened an infringement procedure on Jan. 30, arguing MiCA gave Hungary no legal basis for an additional authorization regime backed by criminal penalties. Hungary repealed the requirement before a court ruled, via Act XXXVIII of 2026, effective Aug. 7.
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What is the MiCA passport for crypto companies?
Under Article 59(7), a crypto company authorized in one EU member state can offer its approved services across the EU without a local license or office. It notifies its home regulator, and under Article 65 it can start within 15 days of that notification.
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Did Hungarian customers get full crypto access back immediately?
No. Bitvavo announced the return of trading and euro deposits with new registrations reopening Sept. 7, but Revolut's Hungarian help page still described a crypto services shutdown tied to a Dec. 18, 2025 deadline weeks after the repeal.
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If MiCA is one common EU framework, why do payment options still differ by country?
MiCA lets exchanges arrange funding themselves or through partners with their own authorization, and each provider decides which local payment rails to support, so methods like BLIK in Poland or iDEAL in the Netherlands appear only in some countries.
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Can one crypto app involve several different legal companies?
Yes. Kraken's EEA terms place core crypto services under an Irish MiCA-authorized entity, e-money under another Irish company, and derivatives under a Cypriot firm. Coinbase similarly split crypto services to Coinbase Luxembourg and e-money to Coinbase Ireland.
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