{"id":128902,"date":"2025-05-09T09:18:21","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T09:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=128902"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:18:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T09:18:21","slug":"germany-seizes-38m-in-crypto-from-bybit-hack-linked-exch-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/?p=128902","title":{"rendered":"Germany seizes $38M in crypto from Bybit hack-linked eXch exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsGerman law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit\u2019s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
\nThe seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany\u2019s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt\u2019s main prosecutor\u2019s office, involved multiple crypto assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). The move marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA\u2019s history.
\nThe authorities also seized eXch\u2019s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
\neXch exchanged crypto without AML
\nIn the statement, the BKA described eXch as a \u201cswapping\u201d service that allowed users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
\nThe platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, some of which were believed to be of \u201ccriminal origin,\u201d including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
\nExample of flow of Bybit exploit funds moving through eXch and bridging back and forth between Ether and Bitcoin. Source: TRM Labs\u201cAmong other things, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit crypto exchange, which was hacked on Feb. 21, 2025, is said to have been exchanged via eXch,\u201d the authorities wrote.
\nMultisig, FixedFloat among laundering cases
\nAccording to a post by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, eXch was also involved in laundering millions of funds from other crypto thefts and exploits, including Multisig, FixedFloat and the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.
\nThose were in addition to \u201ccountless phishing drainer services over the past few years with refusal to block addresses and freeze orders,\u201d ZachXBT said.
\nSource: ZachXBTZachXBT was among the first security analysts to report on eXch\u2019s links to laundering $35 million of crypto assets stolen from Bybit soon after the hack was confirmed.
\nRelated: Hacken CEO sees \u2018no shift\u2019 in crypto security as April hacks hit $357M
\n\u201cLazarus Group transferred 5K ETH from the Bybit Hack to a new address and began laundering funds via eXch (a centralized mixer) and bridging funds to Bitcoin via Chainflip,\u201d ZachXBT wrote in a Telegram post on Feb. 22.
\neXch announced termination of services by May 1
\nAfter initially denying involvement in laundering funds from the Bybit hack, eXch eventually announced it would cease operations by May 1 in a Bitcoin Talk post published in mid-April.
\n\u201cEven though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut down our infrastructure […], we don\u2019t see any point in operating in a hostile environment where we are the target of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] simply because some people misinterpret our goals,\u201d it wrote.
\nAddressing the seizure, senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause stressed the importance of action against \u201cquick and anonymous opportunities for money laundering for any amount.\u201d
\n\u201cCrypto swapping is an essential component of the underground economy, used to conceal incriminated funds from illegal activities such as hacking or trading in stolen payment card data, thus making them available to perpetrators,\u201d he said.
\nMagazine: Finally blast into space with Justin Sun, Vietnam\u2019s new national blockchain: Asia ExpressRead More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: Cointelegraph.com NewsGerman law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit\u2019s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128902"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128902\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cryptospotters.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}