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The German government has taken decisive action against cryptocurrency exchanges that it claims have allowed an underground economy to thrive. On September 19, German authorities announced the shutdown of 47 cryptocurrency trading platforms, accusing them of facilitating cybercriminal activities.
According to the country’s federal criminal police office, the exchanges were allegedly involved in concealing the origins of illegally obtained funds by failing to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
In a joint statement, Germany’s law enforcement agencies, including the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office and the office for combating cybercrime, revealed that these exchanges knowingly supported ransomware operators, botnet controllers, and black-market traders. These criminals allegedly used the platforms to convert illicit gains into legitimate financial systems.
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Government Seizes Servers of Exchanges
The government has seized the servers of these exchanges and placed a message on their websites, warning users that their data has been collected. “We have found their servers and seized them—development servers, production servers, backup servers. We have their data—and therefore we have your data,” the warning reads. It ominously concludes with the phrase, “Our search for traces begins. See you soon.”
Despite this significant move, German authorities acknowledge that pursuing legal action against many users may prove challenging. A large portion of these cybercriminals operate from abroad, residing in countries that either tolerate or protect them from extradition.
Xchange.Cash Targeted
One of the exchanges targeted in this operation, Xchange.cash, had been in operation since 2012. During its time, it processed around 1.3 million transactions for 410,000 users. Other seized platforms, including 60cek.org, Baksman.com, and Prostocash.com, also had significant user bases and transaction volumes, further indicating the scale of this underground network.
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This crackdown on crypto exchanges comes just months after Germany sold nearly 50,000 Bitcoin, valued at around $3.15 billion at the time. The funds, originally seized from the piracy site Movie2k.to in 2020, were sold across several transactions in June and July of this year.
Germany’s recent actions reflect its growing determination to clamp down on the use of cryptocurrency in facilitating cybercrime, signaling to bad actors that they will no longer find safe havens in unregulated platforms.
