The Czech-based privacy-focused eXch Exchange ceased operations on May 1, 2025, after being accused of facilitating the laundering of approximately $35 million from the $1.4 billion cryptocurrency stolen in the Bybit exchange hack. In a notice published on the Bitcoin Forum on April 17, eXch's management announced it had become the target of a "transatlantic operation" aimed at shutting down the platform and potentially prosecuting key figures for money laundering and terrorism, following the North Korean Lazarus Group's use of the platform to obscure the origin of assets stolen in the February 21 Bybit hack.
eXch, often labelled a "mixer," initially denied the accusations but later acknowledged processing a "small portion" of the stolen funds, while emphasising it was not a traditional coin mixer but a privacy-focused instant exchange with minimal Know Your Customer requirements. Blockchain analytics firms including Elliptic and TRM Labs identified eXch as a key hub in the laundering process, wherein the Lazarus Group utilised a complex network of decentralised exchanges, cross-chain bridges, and privacy tools to hide the origin of stolen assets after extracting approximately 401,000 Ethereum from Bybit's cold wallet on February 21.
In its shutdown notice, eXch criticised centralised exchanges for "nonsensical policies" that, it claimed, failed to meaningfully stop money laundering, and announced the creation of a 50 Bitcoin fund to support open-source privacy-enhancing projects in the Bitcoin and Ethereum ecosystems. While eXch's API remained available to partners for a limited time, the incoming management team handling the platform's closure warned that shutting down eXch would not eliminate illicit activity in cryptocurrency, emphasising their position that "privacy is not a crime."
Sources:
1.
Prime brokerage Hidden Road, acquired by Ripple in a $1.25 billion deal, has received FINRA registration—enabling it to expand fixed-income clearing, financing, and prime brokering for institutional clients. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
2.
Vince Dioquino
3.
Shruti Lakhlani
4.
Leon Okwatch
