Once a go-to swapper for hackers and drainers, eXch was shut down by German police in April — but continued activity suggests the story isn’t over.
Without Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, eXch wasn’t your typical crypto exchange. It acted more like an instant swapper, allowing bad actors and cybercriminals to fly under the radar for years.
Among its clients was the Lazarus Group. The North Korean state-backed hacking unit thrust eXch into the spotlight back in February, when it used the platform to funnel some of the $1.4 billion it stole from Bybit. When Bybit traced its stolen funds to eXch, it requested assistance — but the platform refused.
This led to a fierce discussion over privacy versus security, but ultimately, eXch announced it would close its doors on April 17; on April 30, German authorities made it official.
But according to security