Frankfurt authorities have suspended operations for eXch and seized its crypto 
assets valued $38.2 million. The platform allegedly facilitated money 
laundering for major crypto heists including the Bybit and Multisig hacks. 
According to an official statement issued on May 9,…

Frankfurt authorities seize $38.2m from eXch due to money laundering allegations

Decentralized weather networks fill in the gaps and help to strengthen the 
overall forecast, complementing the existing methods.

Weather alerts: Where centralization kills—literally | Opinion

Bitcoin’s price has finally reclaimed the $100,000 milestone after ranging 
below it for several weeks. This latest surge signals renewed momentum in the 
broader crypto market. At the time of writing, the asset trades at $100,383, 
reflecting a 3.5% gain over the past 24 hours. Despite this climb, Bitcoin 
remains roughly 8.4% % below its all-time high of $109,000 reached in January 
2025, highlighting room for further upside if buying interest persists. 
Related Reading: Bitcoin Investors Are Taking Profits Aggressively – Signs Of 
A Local Top? Buy-Side Pressure Mounts as Key Metric Hits Bullish Threshold A 
CryptoQuant analyst has reported that the Taker Buy-Sell Ratio on Binance, 
which reflects the level of aggressive buying versus selling, is currently 
trending upward. Crazzyblockk highlighted key insights into this trend and 
what it may signal for Bitcoin’s price trajectory. According to the post 
titled “Binance Taker Buy-Sell Ratio – Your Smart Money Radar,” the ratio 
currently stands at 1.131, suggesting a dominant presence of market buyers 
over sellers. The seven-day average has trended up to 1.045, while the 30-day 
average shows a 12.1% surge. These readings signal bullish sentiment, although 
the associated z-score of 2.45 suggests that market conditions may be 
approaching short-term overbought levels. Crazzyblockk notes that Binance 
remains one of the most reliable platforms for gauging sentiment due to its 
deep liquidity and trading volume. The platform&#8217;s scale provides an accurate 
reflection of institutional and high-volume trader behavior. The analysis 
suggests that if the taker ratio stays above 1.1 and Bitcoin sustains the 
$99,000 level, bullish continuation is likely. However, a dip below 1.05 could 
hint at profit-taking and potential consolidation. The elevated price 
volatility also provides opportunities for short-term traders looking to 
capitalize on market swings. Bitcoin New Whales Reshape Ownership Dynamics in 
2025 In a separate analysis, CryptoQuant contributor OnChainSchool has 
observed notable changes in the makeup of Bitcoin&#8217;s largest holders. Using on- 
chain data, the analyst identified a substantial increase in the number of 
wallets holding more than 1,000 BTC with coins aged less than 155 days, 
typically considered new whales. The ratio of new to old whales has risen from 
0.16 to 0.28 this year, marking a 75.6% increase in their relative presence. 
These new wallets have collectively added over 430,000 BTC to their holdings, 
while older whales have trimmed their exposure by around 24,000 BTC. Despite 
the dynamic nature of wallet categorization, where new whales age out after 
155 days, the upward trend in balances points to an influx of capital from 
newer, high-value investors. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Realized Cap Hits 
Record High as Accumulation Continues Interestingly, this coincides with the 
recent report of an all-time high recorded in Bitcoin&#8217;s realized cap, which 
signals growing confidence in BTC among holders. Bitcoin Breaks Realized Cap 
All-Time High for the Third Consecutive Week “This pattern reflects growing 
confidence among both Long-Term Holders and Short-Term Holders, who are 
strengthening their positions as the market shows signs of recovery.” – By 
@oro_crypto pic.twitter.com/rQoWq1zqHy — CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) 
May 8, 2025 Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView

Massive Buy Pressure Hits Binance as Bitcoin Reclaims $100,000

According to a recent Gallup poll, real estate is still the preferred long- 
term investment option for U.S. citizens, while gold has surpassed stocks, 
which traditionally reached second place. 37% estimate that real estate is the 
best option, while 24% believe in gold instead. Crypto registers a marginal 
preference, with only 4%. Gallup Poll: Real Estate, […]

Gallup Poll: Real Estate and Gold Still Preferred as Long-Term Investments in US

German law enforcement has seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in 
cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder 
stolen funds during Bybit&#8217;s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany&#8217;s Federal Criminal Police Office 
(BKA) and Frankfurt&#8217;s main prosecutor&#8217;s office, involved multiple crypto 
assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). 
The move marks the third-largest crypto confiscation in the BKA&#8217;s history.
The authorities also seized eXch&#8217;s German server infrastructure with extensive 
over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement 
added.
## eXch exchanged crypto without AML
In the statement, the BKA described eXch as a &#8220;swapping&#8221; service that allowed 
users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money 
Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated an estimated $1.9 
billion in crypto transfers, some of which are believed to be of &#8220;criminal 
origin,&#8221; including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
_Example flow of Bybit Exploit funds moving through eXch and bridging back and 
forth between Ether and Bitcoin. Source: TRM Labs_
&#8220;Among other things, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit 
crypto exchange, which was hacked on February 21, 2025, is said to have been 
exchanged via eXch,&#8221; the authorities wrote.
## Multisig, FixedFloat among laundering cases
According to a post by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, eXch was also involved in 
laundering millions of funds from other crypto thefts and exploits, including 
Multisig, FixedFloat and the $243 million Genesis creditor theft.
Those are in addition to &#8220;countless phishing drainer services over the past 
few years with refusal to block addresses and freeze orders,&#8221; ZachXBT stated.
_Source: ZachXBT_
ZachXBT was among the first security analysts to report on eXch&#8217;s links to 
laundering $35 million of crypto assets stolen from Bybit soon after the hack 
was confirmed on Feb. 21, 2025.
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&#8220;Lazarus Group transferred 5K ETH from the Bybit Hack to a new address and 
began laundering funds via eXch (a centralized mixer) and bridging funds to 
Bitcoin via Chainflip,&#8221; ZachXBT wrote in a Telegram post on Feb. 22.
## eXch announced termination of services by May 1
After initially denying involvement in laundering funds from the Bybit hack, 
eXch eventually announced it would cease operations by May 1 in a Bitcoin Talk 
post published in mid-April.
&#8220;Even though we have been able to operate despite some failed attempts to shut 
down our infrastructure [&#8230;], we don&#8217;t see any point in operating in a 
hostile environment where we are the target of SIGINT [Signals Intelligence] 
simply because some people misinterpret our goals,&#8221; it wrote.
Addressing the seizure, Benjamin Krause, the senior public prosecutor, 
stressed the importance of action against &#8220;quick and anonymous opportunities 
for money laundering for any amount.&#8221;
&#8220;Crypto swapping is an essential component of the underground economy, used to 
conceal incriminated funds from illegal activities such as hacking or trading 
in stolen payment card data, thus making them available to perpetrators,&#8221; he 
stated.
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Cryptocurrency price in THB