German authorities shut major crypto exchange, seize €34m in assets

German police announced on Friday that they shut down a major online platform for cryptocurrency exchanges. They seized €34 million ($38 million) in assets during the operation.

The eXch platform was taken down in late April. This information comes from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Frankfurt prosecutor's office.

Authorities confiscated cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and Dash. This seizure is the third-largest of crypto assets in BKA history.

The platform had been operational since 2014. It allowed users to exchange cryptocurrencies without needing to identify themselves.

eXch advertised itself as not implementing measures against money laundering. An estimated $1.9 billion had been exchanged on this platform.

It was accessible on both the regular internet and the dark net. The operators are suspected of facilitating money laundering and running a criminal trading platform.

They announced plans to shut down the service on May 1. However, authorities intervened and closed it on April 30. This action allowed them to secure over 8 terabytes of data.