German Authorities Shut Down eXch Cryptocurrency Platform and Seize €34 Million in Assets

On April 30, German law enforcement agencies shut down the cryptocurrency exchange platform eXch and seized assets amounting to €34 million.

The servers of the service, which had been operating since 2014, were located in Germany. Users were able to anonymously exchange Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash without any identification, which led to eXch becoming a popular tool for money laundering, according to the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA).

Investigators revealed that approximately $1.9 billion passed through eXch, including $1.5 billion that was part of the funds stolen during the Bybit exchange hack. The platform marketed itself on dark web forums, highlighting its lack of KYC checks, and did not store user data.

The operation was conducted a day before the planned shutdown by eXch owners. With the assistance of the Netherlands’ Fiscal Information and Investigation Service, 8 terabytes of data and cryptocurrency assets were seized. This marks the third largest confiscation in the history of the BKA.

«eXch is a crucial component of the underground economy. The anonymous exchange allows criminals to launder proceeds from hacking attacks or the trade of stolen data,» stated senior prosecutor Benjamin Krause.

Carsten Maivirt, head of the BKA’s cybercrime department, emphasized that the platform operated on an «industrial scale.»

It’s worth noting that on May 1, FinCEN proposed to disconnect the Cambodian platform Huione Group from the U.S. financial system, accusing the company of laundering $4 billion.