Key Point
- German police shut down eXch and seized $38 million in crypto linked to major hacks, including Bybit’s $1.4 billion theft;
- The exchange, active since 2014, moved nearly €1.8 billion with no anti-money laundering checks in place;
- Investigator ZachXBT said eXch ignored warnings and let scammers move stolen funds without restrictions.
German authorities have taken down a cryptocurrency exchange suspected of helping criminals move stolen funds from several major hacks, including the $1.4 billion theft from Bybit.
The operation resulted in the seizure of around €34 million (around $38 million) worth of digital assets, according to a joint statement from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s public prosecutor on May 9.
The seized platform, eXch, was used to swap different crypto currencies and reportedly had no checks to stop money laundering. Investigators said the service had been active since 2014 and handled nearly €1.8 billion in transactions.
Along with the cryptocurrency, police also confiscated servers located in Germany. These servers contained over eight terabytes of data, which will now be reviewed in the ongoing investigation. The platform has been fully shut down.
