Crypto Exchange eXch Denies Involvement in Bybit Hack Money Laundering

According to Cointelegraph, crypto exchange eXch has refuted allegations of laundering money for North Korea’s Lazarus Group following a significant hack on Bybit, which resulted in a $1.4 billion loss on February 21, 2025. In a statement released on February 23 via the Bitcointalk forum, eXch asserted that it is not involved in laundering funds for Lazarus or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The exchange emphasized that its operations remain unaffected by the Bybit hack and assured that all funds are secure. The exchange acknowledged processing a minor portion of the hacked funds but clarified that this was an isolated incident. eXch stated that the funds in question entered their address, 0xf1da173228fcf015f43f3ea15abbb51f0d8f1123, and that any fees generated from this transaction would be donated for public benefit. The exchange further clarified that no other addresses on the Ethereum blockchain, aside from deposit addresses interacting with this specific address, are linked to eXch. The statement from eXch appears to be a response to social media allegations, including claims from onchain investigator ZachXBT, who accused eXch of laundering $35 million of the stolen funds. ZachXBT alleged that eXch inadvertently sent 34 Ether (ETH), valued at $96,000, to a hot wallet of another exchange. Additional accusations came from blockchain analysts and the security firm SlowMist, who claimed that eXch received Ether from wallets associated with the Bybit hack. Nick Bax, a member of the Security Alliance, estimated that eXch processed approximately $30 million in volume for DPRK on the day of the hack. In response to the hack, Bybit has managed to freeze over $42 million of the stolen funds through coordinated efforts. However, Bybit has reportedly faced resistance from eXch in freezing the remaining funds. eXch accused Bybit of previously freezing its users’ funds and failing to communicate effectively to resolve these issues. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou expressed hope that eXch would reconsider its stance and assist in blocking the outflow of funds, emphasizing the importance of a unified industry approach against hackers.