The German police have shut down a cryptocurrency exchange service called eXch and seized 34 million euros worth of cryptocurrency. According to authorities, the service was used by criminals for money laundering.
The service, operational since 2014, allowed users to anonymously exchange cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin for Ethereum without identity verification or data storage.
The operators of eXch are suspected of money laundering and running an online criminal trading platform.
Police confiscated the service's servers and secured cryptocurrencies including Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash. Carsten Meywirth, director of the Bundeskriminalamt, stated that the case highlights industrial-scale cybercrime.
German authorities collaborated with the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), though details of the cooperation remain undisclosed.