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Crypto exchange eXch has denied allegations that it was involved in laundering the funds stolen from Bybit, following claims from several sources. 
eXch has denied allegations of laundering funds stolen from Bybit. The initial accusation came from blockchain sleuth ZachXBT on Feb. 22, when he <a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.me/investigations/212" target="_blank">reported</a> in his investigations Telegram group that eXch laundered $35 million of the funds stolen from Bybit. He also noted that 34 Ethereum (<a href="https://crypto.news/price/ethereum/">ETH</a>) was mistakenly sent to a hot wallet of another exchange during the process. 
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 <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="772" height="373" src="https://crypto.news/app/uploads/2025/02/image-9.png" alt="Crypto exchange eXch denies Bybit laundering accusations - 5" class="wp-image-14339833">
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 Source:<a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.me/investigations/212" target="_blank"> Investigations by ZachXBT</a>
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Aligning with ZachXBT’s claims, Nick Bax of the Security Alliance <a rel="nofollow" href="https://x.com/bax1337/status/1893414227299172397" target="_blank">estimated</a> that eXch processed approximately $30 million in transactions tied to North Korea that day. 
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 By my estimate, eXch did about $30M of volume for DPRK today. Curious to see how long they can keep this up. If you use eXch… don't be surprised when any service with a compliance program starts doing enhanced due diligence on your source of funds. <a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.co/qTSJwH5VLq" target="_blank">https://t.co/qTSJwH5VLq</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="https://t.co/7LEzdZVQGR" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/7LEzdZVQGR</a>— Nick Bax.eth (@bax1337) <a href="https://twitter.com/bax1337/status/1893414227299172397?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">February 22, 2025</a>
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Similarly, security firm SlowMist <a rel="nofollow" href="https://x.com/MistTrack_io/status/1893517271403819069" target="_blank">stated</a> that a significant portion of Ether had already been converted into Bitcoin, Monero, and other cryptocurrencies through eXch. 
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 https://twitter.com/MistTrack_io/status/1893517271403819069 
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In response, eXch <a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=577207.1300" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">denied</a> the accusations in his Feb. 23 statement on the Bitcointalk forum. However, it did <a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=577207.1300" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">admit</a> to processing a small portion of the stolen assets, which it described as an “isolated incident.” According to eXch, the address&nbsp;[…] 1123 received these funds, but no other Ethereum blockchain addresses, aside from deposit addresses, were linked to its platform. It also said that the fees generated from these transactions would be donated for public benefit. 
 You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/lazarus-group-identified-in-1-5b-bybit-hack-arkham/"> Lazarus Group identified in $1.5b Bybit hack: Arkham </a> 
Bybit has been actively working with blockchain forensic experts to trace the stolen funds. It has also offered 10% of the recovered amount as a <a href="https://crypto.news/bybit-launches-140m-bounty-to-track-down-crypto-heist/">bounty</a> for assisting in the retrieval process.&nbsp; 
The Bybit theft has been attributed to the North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which <a href="https://zachxbt.mirror.xyz/B0-UJtxN41cJhpPtKv0v2LZ8u-0PwZ4ecMPEdX4l8vE" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">laundered</a> over $200 million in stolen crypto assets between 2020 and 2023. 
According to <a href="https://www.elliptic.co/blog/bybit-hack-largest-in-history" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Elliptic</a>, a blockchain analytics and compliance firm, the <a href="https://crypto.news/lazarus-group-hackers-launch-new-method-for-cyber-attacks/">Lazarus Group</a> follows a characteristic pattern when laundering the stolen funds. 
Specifically, it swaps stolen tokens for native blockchain assets like ETH to prevent token issuers from freezing the funds. In the case of the Bybit hack, stolen tokens were almost immediately exchanged for ETH through decentralized exchanges. 
The group then obscured the transaction history by dispersing funds across multiple wallets, moving assets between blockchains, and using mixing services like Tornado Cash. Within two hours of the attack, the stolen funds had been distributed across 50 wallets, each containing approximately 10,000 ETH. By Feb. 23, an estimated 10% of the stolen assets—valued at $140 million—had already been moved. 
According to <a href="https://www.elliptic.co/blog/bybit-hack-largest-in-history" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Elliptic</a>, the stolen ETH is now being converted into BTC, a step that precedes further obfuscation through mixers. However, the large volume of assets may complicate this process, Elliptic explained. 
 You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/bybit-closes-1-4b-gap-in-ethereum-tokens-through-loans-whale-deposits-and-eth-purchases-data-shows/"> Bybit closes $1.4b gap in Ethereum tokens through loans, whale deposits and ETH purchases, data shows </a>

Crypto exchange eXch denies Bybit laundering accusations

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