Germany shuts down eXch and seizes €34M tied to the Bybit attack — although eXch denied any wrongdoing and cited a “hostile environment” as the reason for shutting down the platform. While the EU can be more prejudiced toward crypto platforms in some cases – this time AML violation charges were quite specific, and eXch had failed to implement appropriate user and transaction verification measures.
More on Germany’s Allegations and the Shutdown of eXch
While the Bybit incident itself was resolved with record speed – first in terms of recovered funds and more recently in the full restoration of liquidity – it only underscored how unexpectedly secure and resilient the platform itself proved to be and how much more scrutiny is required when it comes to partners and integrations.
Nevertheless, the investigation continued, and eXch became part of it, as Germany accused the platform of being linked to the Bybit attack — more specifically, of violating AML regulations by maintaining weak oversight mechanisms that allegedly allowed Lazarus to use eXch as a laundering node for the stolen cryptocurrency.
And while it could be assumed that this is yet another aggressive move against crypto platforms by the EU, it is worth noting that this is not the first such allegation against eXch. It is claimed that since 2014, more than $1.9 billion has flowed through the platform — including funds tied to other cybercrimes such as Multisig and Genesis. Throughout this period, eXch reportedly failed to block a single suspicious account or freeze any stolen assets, which weakens the credibility of its claims of innocence.
eXch, for its part, stated that this is nothing more than standard regulatory pressure against crypto platforms and announced plans to shut down due to what it described as a hostile environment and ongoing attacks.
Conclusion
It remains to be seen how the case will unfold, as these are still unproven accusations. However, despite the EU’s traditionally strict stance toward crypto, eXch is currently not in the strongest position to defend itself.
