Germany Seizes €34M in Crypto in Major Dark Web Crackdown

By OKOSODO FAVOUR | MAY 09, 2025

Germany Seizes €34M in Crypto in Major Dark Web Crackdown

[{"selector":"#anim-ddd6bb76-7da3-4544-9f39-c3e7804cb17f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-12accd44-1762-476e-a586-e0faef80acab","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-106.12814%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7176bbea-fc01-4773-b0bc-fae7e7dc24b9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":200,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-46ad00ec-74b0-440f-b5b7-d4d61fb7c265","keyframes":[{"offset":0,"transform":"translate3d(0, -514.00187%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.29,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.45,"transform":"translate3d(0, -144.537325844%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.61,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.71,"transform":"translate3d(0, -49.13857877200001%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.8,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.85,"transform":"translate3d(0, -18.452667133000002%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.92,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.96,"transform":"translate3d(0, -8.018429172000001%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":1,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"}],"delay":0,"duration":600,"fill":"both"}] Frankfurt law enforcement shuts down eXch, a notorious crypto platform linked to billion-dollar hacks.

The Crackdown

[{"selector":"#anim-fda5dec3-f2ca-458b-b262-42788967f159","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ec5e0c0f-22b4-4da3-a04c-7c6cafedbc88","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] [{"selector":"#anim-34c1e428-e08e-4a74-a0c3-a8df8ffa2661","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-51950c88-06ca-4d45-bbe8-3ffcb2fbbaa1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-104.19355%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Authorities seized €34M ($38.2M) in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more—Germany’s 3rd-largest crypto confiscation ever. eXch was allegedly laundering funds from major exploits.

Links to Major Hacks

[{"selector":"#anim-474fbe63-db65-4caf-b2f1-193babf73ba6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-08bd10dc-4120-467c-995d-c1ba3d513a24","keyframes":[{"offset":0,"transform":"translate3d(0, -321.65528%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.29,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.45,"transform":"translate3d(0, -90.44946473600001%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.61,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.71,"transform":"translate3d(0, -30.750244768%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.8,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.85,"transform":"translate3d(0, -11.547424552%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.92,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.96,"transform":"translate3d(0, -5.017822368%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":1,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"}],"delay":0,"duration":600,"fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a29b0c25-725b-4746-a982-54031b84f3fc","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-104.47368%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-787a3c97-b2b0-470e-ace8-f075a9284e4c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c1660876-ace3-457c-b7b5-806e51d6b2c8","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5186737c-bc39-441a-947a-a576ef81fb08","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5dac20ea-2bd7-43c8-b4f5-3fe86b88c287","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, 2547.22474%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] eXch tied to: $1.5B Bybit hack $1.4B Multisig breach FixedFloat exploit $243M Genesis Creditor theft Plus: years of phishing campaign proceeds.

How eXch Operated

[{"selector":"#anim-e82aa45b-1956-4724-8d51-45778b8e8854","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-67740b8b-477e-41f0-b114-393ad2e67ef9","keyframes":{"opacity":[1,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-22e243f4-35e7-415b-8c19-997da1e77569","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(3)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-60af4907-e25b-408c-86fc-98218e3b09ab","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Founded in 2014, eXch thrived on the dark web. No KYC. No user data. No blocked wallets. Authorities say: over $1.9B in shady transactions processed.

Investigators Speak Out

[{"selector":"#anim-efc79a99-382e-4e3d-94b6-f62847215c4e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c61f1e26-409f-4c1e-a5a9-4dc8fd7f4957","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-145.32373%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":600,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9d73fd01-be72-40c2-8535-09dbd61199db","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":800,"duration":1600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f36eee8c-aeaf-489a-a79e-8c6020364570","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(1)","scale(1.5)","scale(0.95)","scale(1)"],"offset":[0,0.33,0.66,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1450,"easing":"ease-in-out","fill":"both","iterations":1}] This is a direct blow to the underground crypto economy. — Carsten Meywirth, BKA Crypto sleuth ZachXBT helped trace the flow. Justice is catching up.

For More Stories!

[{"selector":"#anim-63e981f7-a797-4f91-9eb7-c8122914efff","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-61115309-8e55-4e53-a3b8-9252f7c83412","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":100,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-03be2a2e-df72-446d-a6aa-ddfa52db4b78","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(188.88886%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":100,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1a0eb36d-47ed-497f-a5eb-609081f75c1d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e49300f3-3d3e-403a-a72d-440ee10b9cd4","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-8deg) translate3d(-181.8182%, 0px, 0) rotate(8deg)","rotate(-8deg) translate3d(0px, 0px, 0) rotate(8deg)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ddd27e83-40d2-44be-a5a8-fd155e7ace1d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-deddff2a-9fa8-44cd-9536-4df9199b6f77","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-148.27585%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-94358a59-06e1-4fa6-9b38-a52b56f58e57","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(153.44826%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-68141649-6cbb-4242-a8ba-e2ab3fc4caa9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d061ac63-3e7b-4f86-a05a-aa74b6df4553","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(0.15)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-a004628f-108d-4aa5-b20a-a752ef3d2ff7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":300,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8f7d3edd-9b89-4768-84b6-e8a2cc6f2890","keyframes":{"transform":["rotate(-8deg) translate3d(184.09095%, 0px, 0) rotate(8deg)","rotate(-8deg) translate3d(0px, 0px, 0) rotate(8deg)"]},"delay":300,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7d4cdf5f-71a4-4b54-af3b-3c6373a02d19","keyframes":[{"offset":0,"transform":"translate3d(0, -321.65528%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.29,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.45,"transform":"translate3d(0, -90.44946473600001%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.61,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.71,"transform":"translate3d(0, -30.750244768%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.8,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.85,"transform":"translate3d(0, -11.547424552%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":0.92,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"},{"offset":0.96,"transform":"translate3d(0, -5.017822368%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(.5, 0, 1, 1)"},{"offset":1,"transform":"translate3d(0, 0%, 0)","easing":"cubic-bezier(0, 0, .5, 1)"}],"delay":0,"duration":600,"fill":"both"}] Next steps

Germany Seizes €34M in Crypto in Major Dark Web Crackdown