Germany’s Federal Prison Police Workplace (aka Bundeskriminalamt or BKA) has seized the web infrastructure and shutdown linked to the eXch cryptocurrency trade over allegations of cash laundering and working a legal buying and selling platform.
The operation was carried out on April 30, 2025, authorities mentioned, including additionally they confiscated 8 terabytes price of knowledge and cryptocurrency property price €34 million ($38.25 million) in Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Sprint.
In keeping with the BKA, eXch[.]cx, existed since 2014 and supplied cryptocurrency swapping providers, permitting its customers to trade digital property. It was out there each on the clearnet and the darkish internet.
eXch “particularly marketed on platforms of the legal underground financial system (UE) that it didn’t implement any anti-money laundering measures,” the BKA mentioned in an announcement.
“Customers have been neither required to determine themselves to the service, nor was person knowledge saved there. Crypto swapping through eXch was due to this fact significantly appropriate for concealing monetary flows.”
Cryptocurrency property price an estimated $1.9 billion are estimated to have been transferred utilizing the service since its launch. This additionally features a portion of the illicit proceeds gained by North Korean risk actors following the Bybit hack earlier this yr.
The event comes as eXch introduced its personal plans on April 17 to stop their operations efficient this month, prompting the authorities to safe “quite a few items of proof and leads.”
In a message posted on the BitcoinTalk discussion board, eXch mentioned it was shutting down after it “obtained affirmation of data” that the platform is the “topic of an lively transatlantic operation geared toward forcibly shutting our mission down and prosecuting us for ‘cash laundering and terrorism.'”
“The targets we actually by no means had in thoughts have been to allow illicit actions reminiscent of cash laundering or terrorism, as we’re being accused of now,” it claimed. “We even have completely no motivation to function a mission the place we’re seen as criminals. This does not make any sense to us.”
Following the takedown, the Dutch Fiscal Info and Investigation Service (FIOD) mentioned in a message that it is “actively investigating people concerned in cash laundering and different unlawful actions via this swap service.”
“We need to make one factor clear: this motion isn’t an assault on privateness. We respect the appropriate to privateness and acknowledge its significance within the digital age. Nonetheless, when providers are closely abused to commit crime, we’ll act,” it added.
“We urge everybody concerned in illicit exercise to stop instantly. The authorized penalties might be severe. Privateness isn’t the issue – legal misuse is.”
