Law enforcement officials from Germany and Switzerland, supported by Europol and Eurojust have collaborated to dismantle Cryptomixer.
By Godfrey Benjamin
Editor Julia Sakovich
Updated
2 mins read
Cryptomixer has been dismantled by European authorities over some money laundering issues. Notably, the crypto mixing service is popularly known for laundering over €1.3 billion in Bitcoin, equivalent to $1.4 billion. The authorities have now seized more than $27 million (€25 million) in Bitcoin BTC $84 294 24h volatility: 7.8% Market cap: $1.69 T Vol. 24h: $79.70 B and 12 terabytes of data during a coordinated operation in Switzerland.
They also seized the cryptomixer.io domain. All of these assets were confiscated in a bid to dismantle the activities of Cryptomixer, a notorious crypto mixing service.
It is worth noting that the operation was made up of law enforcement agencies from Germany and Switzerland, and was supported by Europol and Eurojust. Europol confirmed on X that a seizure banner was placed on the website after shutting down the service.
Crypto mixing or blending tools like Cryptomixer are usually used to obfuscate the source of cryptocurrency transactions.
They achieve this by shuffling incoming transactions and sending out crypto that can not be traced on the blockchain. Many people leverage the tool to safeguard their crypto transactions. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is one of the users of such privacy platforms.
However, cybercriminals have turned to crypto mixers as a tool for their illicit activities.
In Cryptomixer’s case, it supported ransomware crews, underground forums, and dark-web markets. Explicitly, the firm blocked the traceability of fraudulent assets on the blockchain. These are assets from drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware attacks, and payment-card fraud.
As a result, it provided these entities with the perfect platform to launder proceeds from these illegal operations. Cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek does not think that this is any small operation. He described it as a major laundering hub, citing that mixers only reach that scale “when many ransomware crews, darknet markets, and fraud groups consistently rely on them.”
Another crypto mixer known to handle this magnitude of transaction is Tornado Cash. This led it to face tough sanctions from the US OFAC a few years back. Till now, Roman Storm, one of the developers and co-founders of Tornado Cash, is facing legal actions for the role he played.
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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalist who relishes writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desire to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain media and sites.
