Authorities shut down Bitcoin mixer ChipMixer, seize $46.6M

• Authorities have seized and brought down the web site of ChipMixer
• The crypto mixer was used to launder funds stolen from Binance, Ronin Bridge, and FTX

Bitcoin mixer – ChipMixer has been shut down by authorities, as per an announcement by Europol. The operation concerned the collaboration of regulatory authorities from varied international locations. The operation additionally resulted within the seizure of 4 servers, over 1909.4 Bitcoins (BTC) – over $46.6 million (almost EUR 44.2 million), and seven TB of knowledge.

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A number of companies collaborate to deliver down the Bitcoin mixer

United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Safety Investigation, and Division of Justice took half in taking down the platform. Germany’s Federal Felony Police Workplace and Normal Prosecutors Workplace Frankfurt-Essential additionally headed the operations. Others included Belgium’s Federal police, Poland’s Central Cybercrime Bureau, and Switzerland’s Cantonal Police of Zurich. The press launch additional said,

“The ChipMixer software program blocked the blockchain path of the funds, making it enticing for cybercriminals seeking to launder unlawful proceeds from legal actions corresponding to drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, ransomware assaults, and fee card fraud.”

Furthermore, Europol claims that the Bitcoin mixer, launched in mid-2017, was used to launder over $2.87 billion in cryptocurrencies. A majority of this exercise was associated to markets within the darkweb, stolen cryptocurrencies, and unlawful items trafficking.

Notably, ransomware teams like Mamba, Dharma, Zeppelin, and others have the Bitcoin mixer to launder illegally obtained funds. As well as, the regulatory authorities are investigating the platform’s attainable affiliation with the funds associated to the now-bankrupt crypto trade – FTX. The authorities are investigating whether or not the mixer was utilized by hackers to launder FTX’s funds, which completely amounted to $372 million. As per an on-chain sleuth, ZachXBT, ChipMixer was used to launder 360 BTC of FTX’s funds.

The Bitcoin mixer was additionally utilized by hackers to launder cash stolen by Ronin Bridge, in keeping with a report by Slowmist. Hackers had despatched 26,021.89 BTC to Chipmixer. The identical platform was utilized by Binance hackers in August 2019, with over 5,300 BTC despatched for mixing.

The present motion has resulted within the shut down of the web site. Nonetheless, the authority has not introduced any arrests associated to the case. The press launch additional learn,

“Europol facilitated the knowledge trade between nationwide authorities and supported the coordination of the operation. Europol additionally offered analytical help linking out there information to varied legal circumstances inside and outdoors the EU, and supported the investigation by means of operational evaluation, crypto tracing, and forensic evaluation.”