German Authorities Shut Down 47 Crypto Exchanges Over Illicit Activities

According to CoinDesk, German authorities have shut down 47 cryptocurrency exchanges allegedly involved in criminal activities, including money laundering. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the German Attorney General's Office Frankfurt am Main (Generalstaatsanwaltschaft) announced the closures, citing the exchanges' failure to comply with 'know your customer' (KYC) requirements, which mandate identity and background checks on customers. The BKA's press release on Thursday highlighted that some of the affected exchanges include Xchange.cash, 60cek.org, and Baksman.com, among others. While one of the exchanges had been operational since 2012, others had launched as recently as the previous year. During the investigation, authorities seized customer and transaction data. However, they noted that prosecuting the individuals behind these activities might be challenging, as they often reside in countries where such criminal activities are tolerated or even protected. Instead of focusing on prosecution, German authorities aim to weaken the infrastructure that supports these illegal activities. Earlier this year, the BKA seized 49,857 bitcoin, valued at $2.1 billion at the time, from the operators of the privacy website Movie2k.to, which was shut down in 2013 for copyright violations. The agency sold the tokens in July, causing significant selling pressure in the global crypto markets, compounded by simultaneous repayments from the defunct bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox.