Germany Shuts Down Crypto Exchange eXch, Seizes €34 Million in Assets
German authorities shut down the crypto exchange eXch, seizing 34 million euros ($38 million) in tokens and over 8 terabytes of data. This operation is one of the largest law-enforcement actions against suspected crypto laundering in Germany.
The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) dismantled the platform's server infrastructure on April 30, just before the operators planned to close it. The exchange was suspected of laundering hundreds of millions in stolen cryptocurrency from major breaches, including:
- $1.5 billion Bybit hack
- $243 million Genesis creditor theft
- Numerous phishing campaigns
eXch advertised its lack of anti-money laundering measures and did not require user identification, making it suitable for concealing financial flows. It operated since 2014 on various domains and facilitated swaps between cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, LTC, and DASH without registration.
Investigators reported that over $1.9 billion in cryptocurrency flowed through eXch, largely considered criminal proceeds. This crackdown contributes to a series of regulatory actions against illicit crypto services in Europe, following similar operations against ChipMixer, Sinbad, and Hydra in recent years.