Privacy-focused cryptocurrency platform eXch has announced its decision to shut down on May 1, following increased international scrutiny over alleged links to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. The platform has faced mounting pressure from what it describes as a coordinated effort to dismantle the exchange and take legal action against its team.
In a statement released on the Bitcointalk forum, eXch explained that its internal vote led to the decision to “cease and retreat” rather than resist regulatory and legal pressure. The team emphasized that the platform was never intended to facilitate money laundering or terrorism, despite recent accusations.
The move comes after an investigation into the February 21 hack of crypto exchange Bybit, which resulted in the theft of approximately $1.5 billion worth of digital assets. Blockchain forensics linked portions of the stolen funds to eXch, raising suspicions that the exchange may have been used as a laundering channel for the North Korean hacking group.
eXch denied any involvement in large-scale laundering activities but admitted that a small fraction of the stolen assets had passed through its platform. The company pledged to donate any fees collected from the transactions to the public good.
The platform also resisted calls from Bybit to freeze the remaining stolen funds, citing previous incidents where Bybit allegedly froze funds belonging to its users without explanation. This history contributed to eXch’s reluctance to comply with the recent request.
Once celebrated for its privacy features that allowed for anonymous trading without identity verification, eXch has faced criticism for enabling illicit flows in the past. The platform operated within the bounds of privacy and decentralization principles embraced by parts of the crypto community.
However, the recent developments have brought renewed scrutiny to non-KYC platforms, as many are now facing stricter enforcement under international anti-money laundering frameworks. For eXch, the pressure has become too much to bear, leading to its decision to shut down.
The closure of eXch underscores the challenges faced by cryptocurrency platforms operating in an increasingly regulated environment. The industry continues to evolve, with regulators and law enforcement agencies cracking down on illicit activities in the crypto space. The post Non-KYC Exchange eXch to Close After Scrutiny Over Alleged Lazarus Group Links appeared first on Cryptonews.