Case file · Exchange
eXch
A no-account, Monero-friendly instant swap that was genuinely no-KYC while it ran - until German authorities seized its infrastructure around 1 May 2025 under money-laundering allegations. The domain is dead; listed only as a warning.
The systematized overview
The bureau vs the internet.
1.0/10 · No-KYC (defunct)
DEFUNCT - do not use. eXch was a no-account, Monero-friendly instant swap that ran at KYC level 0 (its FAQ stated "We are a non-KYC exchange. We also never require SoF"). Germany’s BKA and the Frankfurt prosecutor seized its infrastructure - about 34M euros in crypto and 8TB of data - around 30 April 2025, and eXch had announced its own closure for 1 May 2025. Authorities and the intelligence firms TRM Labs and Elliptic allege it was used to launder proceeds of the February 2025 Bybit hack (attributed to North Korea’s Lazarus Group); eXch denied deliberate wrongdoing and acknowledged only that a "small fraction" of such funds may have passed through it. Any live "eXch" clone should be treated as unaffiliated and unverified.
2 recurring praises · 3 recurring gripes
Most praised: genuinely private and no-kyc while it operated; monero-native with tor. Most cited downside: seized by german authorities and shut down.
We track our editorial score and community sentiment separately — neither moves the other. Read together, they're the systematized overview.
The facts
Custody & jurisdiction.
- Jurisdiction
- Anonymous operator; registered as "Private Project Facilitators LTD" in Belize (BC #176168), where virtual-asset activity is restricted
- Custody
- Custodial during the swap on its own reserves (offered proof-of-reserves on request)
- Escrow
- None - operator-controlled liquidity
- Traded
- Was Bitcoin (incl. Lightning), Monero, Ethereum + ERC-20, Litecoin, Dash
- Fiat rails
- None - crypto-to-crypto only
- Payment methods
- n/a (defunct)
- Payment privacy
- Was Monero-native with a Tor .onion; stated no metadata collection
- Disputes
- None - seized and shut down
- KYC trigger
- None while live (no account, no ID) - but the service was seized
- Open source
- No
- Audited
- No independent audit; offered proof-of-reserves "on request" only
- Operating since
- Operated ~2014 to May 2025 (defunct)
The full read
Our analysis, in plain words.
eXch is in this directory as a warning, not a recommendation. On identity privacy it was, by its own contract, about as clean as the category gets: a no-account instant swap that stated it was "a non-KYC exchange" and "never require[d] SoF," Monero-native, with a Tor .onion and a claimed no-metadata, 15-day-deletion posture. It even named a Belize registration - unusually explicit for the niche, though Belize restricts the very activity it ran.
None of that saved its users’ confidence in the end. Around 30 April 2025, Germany’s BKA and the Frankfurt prosecutor seized eXch’s infrastructure, roughly 34M euros in crypto and 8TB of data; eXch had already announced its own closure for 1 May. Authorities estimated ~$1.9B in throughput since 2014, and the intelligence firms TRM Labs and Elliptic separately estimated ~$200M of February 2025 Bybit-hack proceeds moved through it. Whether eXch was complicit or merely exploited is contested - it denied deliberate laundering and acknowledged only a "small fraction" - and we do not resolve that here.
We found no corroborated pattern of users reporting stranded or lost funds at closure (eXch used an automatic-refund model and published a wind-down plan), so we do not allege a rug-pull - treat it as "no evidence found," not a clean exit, given in-flight orders around the seizure window were the plausible risk. The takeaway is the same as every defunct listing: a genuine no-KYC policy is no protection once the operator is seized and gone. Do not send funds to any site using the eXch name.
The score, broken down
How the 1.0 is built.
Privacy
weight 50%What identity, data and metadata the service can demand or collect.
92 × 50% = 4.6 of 10
Trust
weight 30%Whether it can technically deliver what it claims — code, audits, age.
10 × 30% = 0.3 of 10
Reliability
weight 20%Whether the no-KYC claim holds under real-world pressure.
0 × 20% = 0.0 of 10
Weighted score was 4.9 — a reliability rule capped it to 1.0. See the rubric →
Every point, sourced
What earned the score.
Privacy
The fine print, read for you
The clause they bury.
“Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office seized eXch’s server infrastructure, roughly 34 million euros in crypto and over 8 terabytes of data (reported 9-10 May 2025).”
What it meansThis is the failure mode that ends a listing: the service is gone and its infrastructure is in law-enforcement hands. Even a flawless no-KYC posture is worthless when the operator is seized. eXch is listed only as a warning - the domain is dead and any look-alike is unaffiliated.
Read the source →None while it operated - eXch’s FAQ stated it was a non-KYC exchange that never required source-of-funds, with no account and refunds needing no KYC. That is moot now: the service was seized and shut down in early May 2025 and cannot be used.
Policy review — point by point
-
No-KYC policy was genuine while live
eXch’s FAQ stated "We are a non-KYC exchange. We also never require SoF," with no account and refunds that needed no KYC. ↗
-
Seized by law enforcement
Germany’s BKA and the Frankfurt prosecutor seized eXch’s infrastructure, ~34M euros in crypto and 8TB of data, around 30 April 2025. ↗
-
Laundering allegations (attributed, denied)
Authorities and the firms TRM Labs and Elliptic allege eXch laundered stolen funds incl. Bybit-hack proceeds (~$200M estimated by TRM/Elliptic); eXch denied deliberate wrongdoing. ↗
eXch named a Belize registration ("Private Project Facilitators LTD," BC #176168) - more than most no-KYC swaps disclose - but Belize restricts virtual-asset activity, so that registration cut against, rather than for, its accountability. The operator was otherwise anonymous, and the entity was no help to users once German and Dutch authorities moved on the infrastructure.
We keep watching
Incident & policy timeline.
- Feb 2025
Bybit hack (~$1.5B), attributed to Lazarus Group
Roughly $1.46B in ETH was stolen from Bybit, attributed by investigators to North Korea’s Lazarus Group. Investigators later alleged a portion of the proceeds moved through eXch.
source ↗ - Apr 2025
eXch announces closure for 1 May 2025
eXch announced it would cease operations on 1 May 2025, framing it as forced by "an active transatlantic operation aimed at forcibly shutting our project down," and said it would donate a ~50 BTC fund to privacy projects. It denied deliberate laundering.
source ↗ - 30 Apr 2025
German authorities seize eXch
The BKA and Frankfurt prosecutor (with Dutch FIOD, per The Hacker News) seized eXch’s infrastructure, ~34M euros in crypto (BTC/ETH/LTC/DASH) and 8TB of data. Authorities estimated ~$1.9B in total throughput since 2014; TRM Labs and Elliptic separately estimated ~$200M of Bybit-hack proceeds moved through it.
source ↗
The verdict
Where it stands.
Strengths
- Its no-KYC policy was genuine while it operated (no account, no ID, no source-of-funds)
- Monero-native with a Tor .onion and a stated no-metadata / 15-day-deletion posture
Trade-offs
- Seized by German authorities around 1 May 2025; the service is gone
- Alleged by authorities and intelligence firms to have laundered stolen funds (denied by eXch)
- Anonymous operator; nominal Belize registration where virtual-asset activity is restricted
- Any surviving "eXch" domain is unaffiliated and unverified
Across the internet
What reviewers report.
Consistently praised
- Genuinely private and no-KYC while it operated; Monero-native with Tor
- Trusted in privacy circles at its peak; published a wind-down/donation plan
Recurring complaints
- Seized by German authorities and shut down
- Alleged (by authorities/TRM/Elliptic) to have laundered stolen funds
- Anonymous operator; no recourse once seized
Once well-regarded in Monero/privacy circles, now defunct after the German-led seizure. Wrongdoing allegations are attributed to authorities, TRM Labs and Elliptic and denied by eXch; we assert none as fact. No corroborated user-fund losses were found at closure. Synthesized from Monero Observer, The Hacker News, The Record, TRM Labs and Elliptic reporting.
Keep exploring
Related lists & categories.
Ask the bureau
eXch, common questions.
Can I still use eXch?
No. eXch was seized by German authorities and shut down around 1 May 2025. The original domain is dead, and any live site using the eXch name should be treated as an unaffiliated, unverified clone. We list it only as a warning.
Was eXch really no-KYC?
Yes, while it operated. Its FAQ stated "We are a non-KYC exchange. We also never require SoF," with no account and refunds that needed no KYC. But that is exactly the lesson of a defunct listing: a genuine no-KYC posture is no protection when the service is seized and gone.
Did eXch launder money?
German authorities and the intelligence firms TRM Labs and Elliptic allege eXch was used to launder stolen funds, including proceeds of the February 2025 Bybit hack. eXch denied deliberate wrongdoing and acknowledged only that a "small fraction" of such funds may have passed through it. We report these as attributed allegations, not settled fact.
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