German investigators confiscated €34 million (about $38 million) worth of cryptocurrency from eXch

The seizure, which is the third-largest crypto takedown in BKA history, was announced Thursday by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt's chief prosecutor's office.

German authorities have confiscated cryptocurrency worth about €34 million (about $38 million) from eXch, an exchange platform accused of laundering stolen funds from the record-setting $1.4 billion Bybit hack earlier this year.

The seizure, which is the third-largest crypto takedown in BKA history, was announced Thursday by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s chief prosecutor’s office. Authorities also seized more than eight terabytes of server data and shut down the platform.

The haul included Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash, all believed to be tied to illicit transactions, including assets moved in the wake of the February 21 Bybit breach—one of the largest crypto heists to date.

eXch, which had been operating since 2014, promoted itself as a crypto “swapping” service. It allowed users to exchange digital assets without standard Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks, a core requirement for financial service providers in Germany and across the European Union.

Over its decade of operation, eXch reportedly handled around $1.9 billion in crypto transactions. Investigators believe a portion of those funds came from criminal activities, including money traced back to the Bybit exploit. Security analysts noted that some of the stolen Ether was bridged and swapped repeatedly, obscuring its trail through services like eXch.

Crypto researcher ZachXBT was one of the earliest to flag eXch’s involvement. In the days following the Bybit hack, he reported that Lazarus Group moved 5,000 ETH to a new wallet and began cycling funds through eXch and other bridges to Bitcoin.

The investigation also tied eXch to earlier crypto thefts, including the $243 million Genesis creditor exploit, and alleged laundering for Multisig, FixedFloat, and various phishing and draining scams.

Despite mounting allegations, eXch continued operations until mid-April, when it announced plans to wind down by May 1. In its farewell post on Bitcoin Talk, the platform claimed it was unfairly targeted and criticized increasing surveillance pressure.

“Even though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut down our infrastructure, we don’t see any point in operating in a hostile environment,” the team behind eXch wrote.

Commenting on the seizure, senior public prosecutor Benjamin Krause said such platforms play a key role in obscuring stolen assets.

“Crypto swapping is an essential component of the underground economy,” Krause said. “It helps turn dirty money from hacks or stolen card data into clean funds that can be reused.”