Crypto trade eXch pronounces shutdown amid allegations of complicity in $1.4 billion Bybit hack
eXch, a cryptocurrency trade famend for its emphasis on privateness and operations with out Know-Your-Buyer (KYC) necessities, has introduced plans to stop operations by Could 1, 2025.
The choice follows allegations linking eXch to the $1.4 billion Bybit hack in February 2025, which reportedly concerned laundering funds by its platform.
The hack was attributed to North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In an April 17 announcement, eXch disclosed that an “lively transatlantic operation” concentrating on its infrastructure was underway, probably escalating to cash laundering and terrorism financing fees towards its workforce.
This growth was stated to be pushed by proof from a whistleblower affiliated with the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ).
eXch’s Response and Allegations
Johann Roberts, CEO of eXch, addressed the state of affairs, stating, “We don’t see any level in working in a hostile surroundings the place we’re the goal of SIGINT just because some folks misread our objectives.”
- Roberts referred to SIGINT—brief for Indicators Intelligence—a technique of gathering intelligence, which signifies the size of scrutiny eXch is going through.
- The trade initially denied allegations of laundering cash for Lazarus/DPRK (Democratic Individuals’s Republic of Korea), attributing discrepancies to outdated knowledge from its third-party anti-money laundering (AML) screening supplier.
- In line with eXch, this delay triggered a roughly 12-hour hole in updating info associated to the hacked Ethereum addresses.
Subsequent investigations revealed that eXch had processed a “minor portion” of the stolen funds—roughly 90,000 Ethereum (ETH)—which had been laundered by a number of centralized and decentralized providers.
Nonetheless, this amounted to solely a fraction of the 401,346 ETH siphoned through the Bybit assault. Roberts additionally cited the refusal of Bybit’s cooperation with eXch, claiming earlier “direct assaults” had broken eXch’s fame and strained relations.
Challenges and Business Criticism
eXch’s operational mannequin as a non-KYC, accountless trade has lengthy been controversial, attracting scrutiny from investigative {groups} like Elliptic and ZachXBT.
Roberts criticized what he referred to as “elitist insurance policies” throughout the business, significantly aimed toward privacy-centric platforms. He claimed Elliptic had declined eXch’s requests for service resulting from its privacy-focused strategy.
In its closing assertion, eXch took purpose at prevailing AML practices throughout the business, describing them as “nonsensical insurance policies” that may be “simply bypassed.”
The trade argued that these mechanisms fail to stop illicit exercise successfully whereas undermining the ideas of consumer privateness.
What you need to know
Till its closure on Could 1, eXch will proceed offering API entry to companions.
- Selections concerning future operations will likely be left to a brand new administration workforce, elevating questions concerning the potential rebranding or restructuring of the platform.
- The controversy surrounding eXch underscores broader challenges within the cryptocurrency business, together with the fragile steadiness between consumer privateness and regulatory compliance.
The closure marks a big growth within the ongoing debate over the position and accountability of privacy-focused exchanges within the crypto ecosystem.
