Crypto exchage eXch announced it will shut down on May 1 amid money laundering allegations

PANews reported on April 18 that according to Cointelegraph, crypto exchange eXch announced it will cease operations on May 1. Prior reports suggested the platform was used to launder part of the stolen funds from Bybit exchange. In a statement on April 17, eXch stated that most of its management team voted to "stop operations and exit" in response to allegations that the North Korean hacker group Lazarus Group laundered approximately $35 million through the platform—funds originating from a $1.4 billion hack of Bybit. The exchange said it has become a target of a "transatlantic law enforcement operation" aimed at shutting down its business and potentially bringing criminal charges. eXch stated: "Although we withstood multiple attempts to close down our infrastructure and maintained operations, we believe continuing to operate in a hostile environment where we became a signal intelligence surveillance target and were misinterpreted by certain individuals is meaningless." The exchange initially denied blockchain detectives' claims about helping Lazarus Group launder money but acknowledged processing a "very small portion of funds" from the February hacking incident.