Bitcoin Regulatory Shift Follows Hungary’s July 2025 Verification Repeal

Crypto News

Bitcoin (BTC) gained a clearer European market-structure signal after Hungary’s parliament moved to cancel an independent verification requirement that had applied to crypto transactions since July 1, 2025. The amendment removes a rule that required a certified verifier to issue a suitability statement for every crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto transfer, while also checking wallet ownership, customer identity and the origin of the digital assets. Officials said the obligation conflicted with the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets framework, known as MiCA, and imposed an extra layer that other member states do not demand. The change leaves the rest of the country’s crypto licensing regime in place, including oversight of custody, trading, transfer and investment advisory services. The package also repeals certain penalty provisions tied to unlicensed exchange services and improper use of crypto assets, although the government kept other regulatory controls active. That distinction matters for firms providing custody or transfer services because they still face MiCA-style authorization, capital and governance expectations rather than a free-market vacuum. Finance Minister Karman Andras said the earlier system disrupted Hungary’s crypto ecosystem and forced multiple service providers to pause operations, while State Secretary Nikoletta Boda confirmed that the repealed requirement had arrived before the EU’s July 2026 compliance deadline. The legislative shift coincides with the return of CoinCash, operated by Tiwala Solutions, which received Hungary’s first MiCA license from the central bank on July 20. The authorization covers custody, conversion between fiat and crypto, transfers, investment advice and portfolio management. For Bitcoin and every altcoin traded through regulated local venues, the practical question is whether a lighter, EU-aligned approval path can rebuild liquidity without weakening customer protection. CoinCash co-founder Gabor Galantai described the license as a milestone for the first Hungarian company authorized under MiCA, and market participants are now watching whether the revised framework attracts additional applications and strengthens the broader altcoin service sector.

Myanmar’s Union Parliament approved an anti-online-scam bill on July 28, 2026, placing crypto-related fraud inside a stricter criminal framework that can carry life imprisonment once the president signs and the effective date is published. The legislation targets operators of online scam centers and digital-asset fraud schemes, while setting harsher punishments for cases involving violence, torture, unlawful detention or forced participation. If a coerced person dies, the draft allows the death penalty. The measure still requires presidential approval, so enforcement timing remains uncertain, and border areas controlled by ethnic armed groups present a practical challenge for prosecutors. The legal push follows official U.S. Treasury designations from September 2025 against nine targets linked to scam compounds in Shwe Kokko, Karen State, where authorities said trafficked workers were forced to execute crypto investment fraud under armed protection. Treasury also estimated that U.S. victims lost more than $10 billion to Southeast Asia-based scams in 2024, a 66% increase from the prior year. International enforcement has expanded in parallel. Interpol’s First Light 2026 operation, involving 97 countries and territories, led to 5,811 arrests and the seizure of $293 million in assets between Jan. 15 and April 30. Myanmar also participated in the multinational operation, indicating that the new domestic penalties are arriving alongside cross-border cooperation rather than as an isolated national response. One Thai case showed how proceeds from romance scams were moved through multiple cryptocurrencies and cross-chain exchanges, with a 20-year-old suspect allegedly managing a wallet that processed more than $122.5 million over 10 months. For Bitcoin and the wider market, the significance is not a new trading venue or listing, but a signal that regulators and police are treating crypto fraud as organized financial crime. That can improve institutional confidence over time, even as retail users remain wary during periods when prices are far below a prior all-time high.

COINOTAG’s reading is that Hungary and Myanmar are addressing the same weakness from opposite directions: weak compliance perimeter and criminal misuse. Clearer MiCA licensing in Hungary reduces operational uncertainty for Bitcoin custody and trading, while Myanmar’s life-sentence framework raises the cost of fraud networks that exploit cross-chain transfers. Official legislative records, Treasury designations and Interpol seizure data support that conclusion. Our aggregate market data show Bitcoin at 69.8% of the COINOTAG-tracked market, total tracked value near $1.84 trillion and a Fear and Greed Index of 28/100. With sentiment in fear, regulatory credibility may matter more than short-term price moves or a return to a prior all-time high.