German regulation enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on Could 9 by Germany’s Federal Felony Police Workplace (BKA) and Frankfurt’s most important prosecutor’s workplace, concerned a number of crypto property, together with Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Sprint (DASH). The transfer marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA’s historical past.
The authorities additionally seized eXch’s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of knowledge and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
eXch exchanged crypto with out AML
Within the assertion, the BKA described eXch as a “swapping” service that allowed customers to exchange varied crypto property with out implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, a few of which have been believed to be of “felony origin,” together with property laundered through the Bybit hack.
“Amongst different issues, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit crypto exchange, which was hacked on Feb. 21, 2025, is claimed to have been exchanged through eXch,” the authorities wrote.
Multisig, FixedFloat amongst laundering circumstances
According to a publish by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, eXch was additionally concerned in laundering hundreds of thousands of funds from different crypto thefts and exploits, together with Multisig, FixedFloat and the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.
These have been in addition to “numerous phishing drainer companies over the previous few years with refusal to dam addresses and freeze orders,” ZachXBT mentioned.
ZachXBT was among the many first safety analysts to report on eXch’s hyperlinks to laundering $35 million of crypto property stolen from Bybit quickly after the hack was confirmed.
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“Lazarus Group transferred 5K ETH from the Bybit Hack to a brand new handle and started laundering funds through eXch (a centralized mixer) and bridging funds to Bitcoin through Chainflip,” ZachXBT wrote in a Telegram publish on Feb. 22.
eXch introduced termination of companies by Could 1
After initially denying involvement in laundering funds from the Bybit hack, eXch finally announced it would cease operations by Could 1 in a Bitcoin Discuss publish revealed in mid-April.
“Although we’ve been capable of function regardless of some failed makes an attempt to close down our infrastructure […], we don’t see any level in working in a hostile surroundings the place we’re the goal of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] just because some individuals misread our objectives,” it wrote.
Addressing the seizure, senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause careworn the significance of motion in opposition to “fast and nameless alternatives for cash laundering for any quantity.”
“Crypto swapping is an integral part of the underground financial system, used to hide incriminated funds from unlawful actions similar to hacking or buying and selling in stolen fee card information, thus making them obtainable to perpetrators,” he mentioned.
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Cointelegraph by Helen Partz Germany seizes $38M in crypto from Bybit hack-linked eXch exchange cointelegraph.com 2025-05-09 08:24:17
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