German authorities seize $38M in crypto from major exchange eXch

German authorities have seized millions worth of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from the now-defunct crypto platform eXch, which allegedly laundered stolen assets from Bybit’s $1.4 billion hack and other major cyberthefts.

According to a May 9 announcement from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Cybercrime (ZIT), the operation led to the confiscation of roughly €34 million ($38 million) in crypto assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash.

Investigators also took control of eXch’s German-based servers and shut down the platform, securing over eight terabytes of data in the process. 

Authorities said this marks the third-largest crypto seizure in BKA’s history. 

The operation was carried out in cooperation with the Netherlands’ Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), and officials believe the data collected could help with other similar cases tied to eXch’s laundering network.

What is eXch?

According to the BKA, eXch is a crypto “swapping” service that lets users convert various cryptocurrencies without any Know Your Customer (KYC) or Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks.

Accessible via both the clearnet and darknet, eXch marketed itself in criminal forums as a way to move funds anonymously.

The platform reportedly processed around $1.9 billion worth of crypto transactions since its launch in 2014, with investigators suspecting a significant portion of those funds were of criminal origin. 

Among them was a share of the $1.5 billion stolen from Bybit during the February 21 hack, which officials say was routed through eXch.

“Crypto 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,” said senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause while addressing the seizure.

eXch had previously claimed it would voluntarily shut down on May 1, citing what it described in a now-deleted Bitcoin Talk post as a “transatlantic operation” targeting the service with surveillance and legal pressure.

At the time, the team said it no longer saw value in continuing under “hostile” conditions.

German authorities moved in ahead of the planned shutdown date to secure key evidence that would prevent further laundering activity, the announcement said.

Prosecutors are now pursuing charges against the platform’s operators, including commercial money laundering and running an illegal trading platform.

eXch continued operations

According to blockchain forensics firm TRM Labs, eXch remained active despite its public shutdown notice, continuing to facilitate crypto laundering through backend integrations with partner services.

Shortly after posting its shutdown notice on April 17, eXch removed the message within hours.

By April 28, on-chain activity suggested the platform had resumed operations, indicating its infrastructure was never fully dismantled.

TRM’s investigation found ongoing transactions tied to eXch via API access provided to affiliated mixers and privacy services.

The firm also tied eXch to over $300,000 in cryptocurrency associated with child sexual abuse material networks.

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