German law enforcement seized €34 million worth of crypto assets from the eXch exchange, which is suspected of being involved in money laundering activities resulting from a massive hack worth US$1.4 billion against the global crypto exchange Bybit.
According to an official statement on Friday (9/5/2025), the German Federal Criminal Office (BKA) together with the Frankfurt Prosecutor’s Office revealed that the seizure included various crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash. This action is one of the third largest crypto seizures in the history of the BKA.
In addition to seizing digital assets, authorities also shut down the eXch platform’s operations and seized server infrastructure based in Germany with a total data of more than eight terabytes.
“We have again succeeded in seizing millions of euros in the form of illegal crypto assets and deactivating one of the digital money laundering platforms. This proves that cybercrime is already taking place on an industrial scale. We will continue to increase the risk of losses for illegal economic actors,” said the BKA Director for Cybercrime, Carsten Meywirth.
Also read: Crypto Exchange Trading Volume Plummets to Lowest Point Since October 2024, Here’s Why!
eXch Becomes a Nest for Illegal Trading
According to BKA, eXch has been operating since 2014 as a crypto swap service, allowing users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) mechanism or money laundering prevention system. This platform can also be accessed via the clearnet or darknet, and is actively promoted on various illegal forums.
This operational method makes eXch an ideal tool for disguising illegal fund flows. The authority noted that since its inception, the platform has facilitated the transfer of digital assets worth around US$1.9 billion. One of the suspicious transactions highlighted was the alleged laundering of part of the funds from the Bybit hack that occurred in February 2025, worth US$1.46 billion.
Onchain detective ZachXBT said that eXch was also used in a number of fund laundering cases from various other hacks, such as Multisig, FixedFloat, and the theft of Genesis creditor funds worth US$243 million. He also highlighted that eXch had been reluctant to block suspicious addresses and had not complied with requests to freeze funds.
German prosecutor Benjamin Krause stressed the importance of taking strict action against services that allow for quick and anonymous money laundering. He called the practice of crypto swaps a key part of the underground economy that is often used to hide funds from digital crimes such as hacking or the sale of stolen credit card data.
“By disguising the origin of funds, criminals can easily access and exploit their illegal proceeds. This is a real threat to the integrity of the digital financial system,” Krause said.
Also read: After Being Suspended, OKX Re-Introduces DEX Aggregator
The End of eXch’s Business
After initially denying any involvement in the Bybit hack, eXch finally announced the closure of their services on May 1, 2025, via a post on the Bitcoin Talk forum.
In their statement at the time, the eXch team revealed that they had recently learned that their platform had been the target of a “transatlantic operation,” which aimed to shut down their services and sue the team at the exchange for “alleged money laundering and terrorism financing.”
“We see no benefit in operating in a hostile environment, where we are targeted by intelligence simply because our intentions are misinterpreted,” eXch wrote in its statement.