Centralized exchange in Hungary

VASP Registration: Under the transposition of the EU's 5th and 6th Anti-Money Laundering Directives (AMLD5/AMLD6), custodial wallet providers are classified as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).

Obligation: VASPs, including those offering custodial services, are required to register with, or be licensed by, the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority (primarily the Magyar Nemzeti Bank - MNB, the Central Bank of Hungary, which oversees financial market supervision) for AML/CTF purposes.

Purpose of Registration: This registration primarily obliges the entity to comply with AML/CTF requirements, such as customer due diligence (KYC), transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity reporting, rather than specific operational custody rules.

Act CXXXVI of 2013 on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing (Pmtv.) – This is Hungary's primary AML law, amended to include virtual asset service providers.

There are no specific, explicit statutory rules under current Hungarian law specifically for the segregation of client crypto assets from the custodian's own assets.

However, general civil law principles, fiduciary duties, and good business practices would strongly suggest and often require such segregation to protect client interests in case of insolvency or operational issues.

No specific, explicit statutory insurance/bonding requirements for crypto custodians beyond general business insurance that any company would hold.

No specific, explicit mandates for the use of cold storage (offline storage of private keys) under current Hungarian law.

Authorization as a CASP: Under MiCA, any entity providing "custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of third parties" will be classified as a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) and will require prior authorization by a national competent authority (in Hungary, this will be the MNB).

Scope: This authorization is comprehensive and covers specific operational, organizational, and prudential requirements, going far beyond mere AML registration.

Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 on markets in crypto-assets, and amending Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 1095/2010 and Directives 2013/36/EU and (EU) 2019/1937 (MiCA).

Explicit Mandate: MiCA explicitly requires CASPs providing custody services to make adequate arrangements to safeguard the ownership rights of clients, particularly in the event of the CASP's insolvency.

Key Requirements (Article 67):

Maintain records and accounts that allow for the immediate segregation of client crypto-assets and funds from own assets and from those of other clients.

Return client crypto-assets and funds without undue delay upon their request.

No de minimis threshold. For any amount, the originating VASP must obtain and submit specific information about the originator and beneficiary, and the beneficiary VASP must receive and store this information.

Above €1,000: When a transfer from an unhosted wallet to a VASP, or from a VASP to an unhosted wallet, exceeds €1,000, the VASP must collect and verify information about the originator or beneficiary, respectively.

Store the information securely and for the legally required period (typically 5 years, extensible to 10 years).

Detect missing or incomplete information and have procedures for handling such cases (e.g., rejecting or suspending transfers, reporting to authorities).

Fines: Significant monetary fines, which can be substantial, especially for legal entities (up to a certain percentage of turnover or a fixed high amount, whichever is greater). The EU TFR itself mandates that penalties for legal persons should be at least €5 million or 10% of annual turnover, and for natural persons at least €5 million.

Technical requirements: VASPs must ensure data "travels" with transactions for AML/CFT traceability, using interoperable systems compliant with MiCA; no Hungary-specific protocols detailed beyond EU standards and FATF Recommendation 16, facing challenges like GDPR privacy integration.

Outcome: The MNB prohibited Xifra Lifestyle from offering its services to Hungarian residents. The MNB also filed a criminal complaint against the unknown perpetrators. The platform subsequently largely ceased operations in Hungary.

Entity Targeted: Xifra Lifestyle (also known as Xifra Global, Xifra LLC). Violation Type: Unlicensed financial service provision (offering investment services related to cryptocurrency trading without the necessary MNB authorization) and operating a scheme with characteristics of a pyramid scheme. Penalty Amount: The MNB issued a public warning and a cease-and-desist order. While no specific administrative fine amount was publicly disclosed by the MNB in its initial announcement, the action effectively prohibited the entity from operating in Hungary and referred the case to law enforcement for potential criminal proceedings.