Revolut Exits Hungary's Crypto Market: Regulatory Hurdles Force Shutdown by Year-End

In a move that underscores the growing tensions between fintech innovation and national regulatory frameworks, British digital banking giant Revolut has announced the complete withdrawal of its cryptocurrency services from Hungary. Effective December 18, 2025, Hungarian users will lose access to all crypto trading, staking, and related features, marking the end of a tumultuous chapter for the company's digital asset operations in the Central European nation.

Revolut's troubles in Hungary began earlier this year when stringent new domestic and international regulations compelled the firm to suspend crypto services in July 2025. At the time, users' digital assets were frozen, leaving thousands unable to buy, sell, or transfer holdings amid a wave of compliance requirements. Despite obtaining an EU-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license through its Cypriot subsidiary in October 2025, local Hungarian laws continued to block resumption of trading.

The decision to exit stems from an unyielding regulatory environment. Hungarian authorities, led by National Economy Minister Márton Nagy, have pushed for tighter controls on digital assets, including proposed bills in September 2025 aimed at boosting tax revenues from cryptocurrency activities. Experts estimate that the frozen holdings represent losses of several hundred million forints (roughly hundreds of thousands of euros) for users and the platform alike.

"This isn't a voluntary retreat; it's a compliance necessity," noted one industry analyst, highlighting how Hungary's rules criminalize certain operations without clear MiCA alignment.As of December 6, 2025, Revolut temporarily restored limited access to crypto wallets, but with severe restrictions: no new purchases, deposits, staking, or "Learn & Earn" rewards are available. Users can only sell assets for fiat currency (euros or forints) or transfer them to external wallets.

This exit signals deeper challenges for crypto adoption in Hungary, a country already grappling with economic pressures and EU alignment. While Revolut's departure affects a niche—primarily tech-savvy millennials and investors—it amplifies concerns over the nation's regulatory trajectory. With plans for even stricter controls in 2026, other platforms may follow suit, potentially stifling innovation in a market once buoyed by Budapest's vibrant startup ecosyste.

For Revolut, the move aligns with a global strategy to prioritize compliant markets. The company, valued at over $45 billion, continues to expand elsewhere in Europe and beyond. Yet, for Hungarian users, it's a stark reminder of the fragility of digital finance in the face of national policy shifts.As the December 18 deadline looms, one thing is clear: in the clash between borderless crypto and bordered regulations, it's often the users caught in the middle who bear the cost. Those affected are advised to review their accounts immediately and consider diversified, locally compliant alternatives moving forward.

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FOMC: A 25bps Cut on the Horizon, But Hawkish Signals Could Temper Crypto's Rally

As the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) wraps up its final meeting of 2025 today, Wall Street and global markets are on high alert. The two-day session, which began yesterday, culminates in an anticipated announcement this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. ET, followed by Chair Jerome Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m. With Bitcoin hovering around $92,700—up modestly from yesterday's open but still nursing losses from its November peak—the crypto world is bracing for ripples that could either propel digital assets to new heights or introduce fresh headwinds.

Economists and traders overwhelmingly expect the Fed to deliver a quarter-percentage-point (25 basis points) reduction in the federal funds rate, marking the third consecutive cut this year. This move would bring the benchmark rate to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, down from the 5.25% to 5.50% peak reached in 2023 amid aggressive inflation-fighting hikes. The decision aligns with the Fed's dual mandate of fostering maximum employment while steering inflation toward its 2% long-term target, as inflation has cooled to around 2.4% in recent readings.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement—likely within hours—crypto markets are poised for heightened volatility, a hallmark of FOMC days. Historically, Federal Reserve decisions act as a barometer for risk appetite, with rate cuts often injecting liquidity and optimism into speculative assets like cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins have shown a pattern of sharp intraday swings post-FOMC, sometimes rallying 5-10% if the news meets or exceeds dovish expectations.

A straightforward 25bps cut without aggressive hawkish caveats could spark a near-term rally, pushing Bitcoin toward the psychologically significant $100,000 mark that analysts like those at The Street have flagged as a post-decision target. Lower borrowing costs make yield-chasing in high-risk assets more attractive, drawing institutional inflows via spot ETFs, which have already amassed over $50 billion in assets under management this year. Ethereum, buoyed by recent network upgrades, might see similar lifts, potentially climbing toward $4,000.

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Dubai's financial services authority seeks to regulate cryptocurrency with new law

Dubai's Financial Services Authority (DFSA) released a 56-page draft cryptocurrency consultation paper yesterday called the The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law (DVAR).

The UAE emirate of Dubai aims to become a global player in the cryptocurrency economy with this new virtual assets law.

“The future belongs to whoever designs it,” Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said on Twitter.

The new bill is aimed strictly at cryptocurrency tokens, and it excludes utility tokens, non-fungible tokens and central bank digital currencies, “We are proposing to exclude NFTs from the scope of our current proposals on the basis there is no Financial Service being provided,” said the consultation paper.

The DVAR has specific provisions that forbid the use of anonymous cryptos and algorithmic tokens which alter their supply to stabalize the price.

The new bill will be submitted for approval after it passes the amendments period.

The final version of the DVAR will be released to the public before being passed.

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Biden to sign executive order to examine impact of cryptocurrencies on U.S. national security

According to unnamed sources within the Biden administraion, a new executive order on cryptocurrencies will be signed by the president this week.

Bloomberg reports the new order will set the tone and posture of the U.S. government’s approach to regulation of the cryptocurrency industry, with a particular focus on sanctions enforcement.

The executive order will instruct agencies of the federal government to study potential alterations to the current regulatory landscape.

Additioanally, the new order will examine the impact of cryptocurrencuies on American national security.

The Biden administration has placed strong emphasis on cryptocurrencies in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the heavy sanctions that have been applied on Russia as a result.

There are concerns that Russian oligarchs under sanctions may be using crypto to bypass the sanctions.

In related news, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase, announced today it has blocked 25,000 crypto addresses connected to Russian citizens engaging in offenses, "Once we identified these addresses, we shared them with the government to further support sanctions enforcement." said Coinbase on their blog.

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Russian central bank boosts interest rate to 20% to save ruble from crash

The Russian central bank increased the interest rate from 9.5% to 20% as the ruble plunged on Monday to a record low against the U.S. dollar as a result of severe sanctions placed on Russia due to the war in Ukraine.

Russia's central bank said the dramatic rate hike should help counter the rapid depreciation of the ruble for the time being.

Over the weekend, Russia's central bank also suspended the ability of foreigners to sell Russian stocks and securities to soften the blow to the Russian financial system.

The ruble crashed in early trading on Monday by more than 30% against the dollar.

To help ease pressure on the banking system, Russia's central bank will make available 733 billion rubles to local banks to prevent a liquidty crunch.

Western nations have agreed to block major Russian financial institutions from the SWIFT interbank messaging system, which interconnects banks in over 200 countries.

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Korean crytocurrency exchanges begin to enforce Travel Rule

Cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will begin to comply with the Travel Rule from March 25. South Korean users will only be allowed to make withdrawals to wallets hosted by registered domestic virtual asset service providers.

On February 24th, Upbit sent a notice to all their clients on the upcoming Travel Rule implementation.

The Travel Rule is a system in which virtual asset service providers (VASPs) collect and track the identity information of the sender and recipient. Cryptocurrency transactions exceeding a threshold of 1 million Korea won will be reported to the financial authorities.

Upbit said it has plans to allow deposit and withdrawals to foreign exchanges that comply with the Travel Rule. The company has also not released details on which domestic exchanges are currently supported.

Direct withdrawals to foreign subsidiaries of Upbit are also currently suspended.

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Russian financial markets under pressure as Germany halts Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Russia's stock market and currency, the ruble, took a big hit as a result of President Putin's recognition of former Ukranian territories of Luhanks and Donetsk, as independent states.

The MOEX, Moscow's stock index declined 10% on Monday, which brings total losses since the start of 2022 to more than 20%.

While the ruble declined against the USD to 81 rubles per dollar, a new record low. The steep declines forced the Russian central bank to step in and provide support to financial institutions.

Analysts expect incoming sanctions from the United States and Europe to put further pressure on Russian economy and finances. Today, Germany announced certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been halted.

Capital Economics analysts expect heavy damage to the Russian economy if Russia is blocked from the SWIFT payments system. So far, sanctions from Western allies have been fairly light and mostly symbolic.

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The FED bans its senior officials from trading in crypto, stocks, commodities and forex

On February 18, the Federal Open Markets Committee issued new rules on allowed investments for senior officials of the Federal Reserve.

Senior officials such as board members, presidents, first vice presidents, research directors and others who hold seniors posts, can no longer deal in stocks, derivatives, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, commodities, or foreign currencies for investment purposes.

Senior members may hold cetain assets such as foreign currencies as needed for daily use or when travel abroad for speeches and conferences.

The new rules were put in place as a result of former FED governor Richard Clarida, who was forced to resign in January after it was revelaed he profited from stock trades by buying and selling ahead of Federal Reserve announcements.

Other FED members have also come into the spotlight recently for making individual stock trades and profiting from privileged information.

Robert Kaplan, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, resigned in 2021 for making large stock trades, while former Boston Fed president Eric Rosengren, resigned in 2020 because of trading real estate securities while the FED was intervening in the mortgage-backed securities markets.

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