Hacker money laundering caused a stir, who is right and who is wrong?
On February 23, the mixer platform eXch made a big move on the Bitcoin forum, directly publicizing Bybit's request to intercept the emails of the hacker address, and sneered: "Bybit has been attacking us continuously in the past year. It is hard to understand why we are talking about cooperation now." At the same time, North Korea's Lazarus Group cleaned the 5,000 ETH (about 13 million US dollars) stolen from Bybit through eXch. Yu Xian, the founder of SlowMist, said bluntly: eXch has been involved in security incidents many times, and a large amount of ETH has been washed into BTC and XMR. All platforms have to raise risk control alarms. Is this duel the ultimate collision of privacy and security, or the prelude to a hacker carnival? Let's find out.
1. eXch’s “tough” trump card: privacy first or hacker protection?
As a currency mixer, the core selling point of eXch is to confuse crypto assets and make on-chain tracking an "impossible task". In the face of Bybit's request, eXch not only refused to cooperate, but also made its attitude clear in a public email: You guys start first, don't blame me for not helping.
- **Data support**: In the 2023 BitBrowser hack, eXch cleaned 236 ETH (about 386,000 USD, accounting for 70.6% of the stolen funds) with sophisticated techniques. In this Bybit incident, part of the 5,000 ETH has been converted into BTC and XMR (discussion on the X platform), showing its amazing mixing efficiency.
- **Sharp point of view**: eXch claims to be a privacy defender, but its "undifferentiated service" also allows hackers to take advantage of loopholes. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou called for a joint boycott by the industry, but eXch's tough response exposed a truth: the game between mixers and exchanges has become fierce.
This is not a simple rejection, but a direct challenge to the authority of the centralized platform!
2. Bybit’s pain points: Seeking help during a crisis and trust crisis
Bybit just experienced a $1.4 billion ETH cold wallet theft (Arkham data), and although it claimed that "customer funds are safe", the 5,000 ETH flowing to eXch is undoubtedly worse. The request for interception failed, and it was publicly slapped in the face by eXch, highlighting its dual dilemma in security and collaboration.
- **Bright data**: Bybit's average daily trading volume exceeds 15 billion US dollars (CoinGecko), but it is a "fat sheep" in the eyes of hackers. This time, hackers used eXch and Chainflip, and the efficiency of capital circulation was beyond imagination.
- **In-depth analysis**: If Bybit fails to unite the community to curb the outflow of funds, not only will the losses increase, but it may also shake user confidence. eXch’s “criminal record” (such as exposing security personnel information) makes the cooperation even more illusory.
Bybit’s request for help is not a sign of weakness, but a wake-up call for the industry to save itself!
3. Risk control upgrade: How do ordinary users deal with the risks of coin mixers?
SlowMist Cosine warns: eXch has become a "highway" for hackers to launder money, and the platform should improve its risk control level for its funds. But for ordinary users, this is also a revelation of investment and security.
- **Data support**: Cryptocurrency industry losses exceed $2 billion in 2024 (CertiK), with mixers accounting for nearly 10%. eXch's ETH-BTC-XMR conversion path is a common trick used by hackers to evade tracking.
- **Practical suggestions**: When trading on platforms such as Binance, pay attention to the source of the address and avoid the "high-risk area" where funds flow into the mixer. Long-term players can choose cold storage, and short-term players can use Binance's risk control tools to filter risks.
Hackers’ carnival is also an opportunity for users—the key is how you play it!
Do you support eXch or Bybit?
Is eXch's confrontation with Bybit the last bastion of privacy protection or the umbrella of hackers? Is Bybit's call for help the hope of industry unity or the powerless cry of centralized platforms? Where do you think the mixer should go? Welcome to leave a message to talk about your views, or share your risk control strategy, and decode the ending of this crypto drama together! Friends who like on-chain hot spot analysis may wish to follow me, and I will bring more hardcore disassembly in the future, let's dig gold in Web3 together!
