365Crypto
Crypto exchange eXch is calling it quits. It plans to shut down by May 1. Why? Accusations of laundering money tied to the infamous Lazarus Group.
The group allegedly moved $35 million through eXch, funds stolen in the massive $1.4 billion Bybit exploit.
Management said it’s a “cease and retreat” move. A majority voted to exit due to rising heat from international investigations.
According to eXch, there’s even a “transatlantic operation” trying to shut it down and press charges.
They added that surveillance efforts—aka SIGINT—have been targeting them. “We’re not sticking around in hostile waters,” said the team.
eXch denied most of the laundering claims, but admitted a “small portion” of stolen crypto flowed through their system.
Still, they accused other exchanges of using “nonsense rules” to harass users in the name of compliance.
This all stems from one of crypto’s worst hacks ever.
The Bybit attack drained over $5 billion, affecting users worldwide. CEO Ben Zhou said they’d cover losses.
Since then, Bybit has bounced back to its old market share—about 7%. The company also paid $2 million in bounties to help recover funds.
So far, 89% of the hacked assets have been traced, but not all recovered.*
*Lazarus Group: A hacker collective tied to North Korea, known for large-scale crypto heists.
*SIGINT (Signals Intelligence): Tech-based surveillance and eavesdropping by governments or agencies.
