ChipMixer, a cryptocurrency mixing service linked to the hacks targeting FTX and Axie Infinity, has been taken offline by the FBI, Europol, and other international authorities. In a press release published Wednesdaythe Justice Department says authorities seized $46 million worth of cryptocurrency, along with the service’s domains and GitHub account.
Crypto mixing services like ChipMixer make it more difficult for third parties, such as law enforcement, to track crypto transactions, as they route several payments into a single crypto pool before each amount is broken down and sent to designated recipients. Of course, unlike crypto services registered to operate in the US, it also did not collect any identifying information about its users, according to law enforcement officials. According to the DOJ, ChipMixer laundered more than $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency between 2017 and present.
“ChipMixer facilitated the laundering of cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin, on a massive international scale, encouraging nefarious actors and criminals of all kinds to evade detection,” Jacqueline Romero, a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. . “Platforms like ChipMixer, which are designed to hide the sources and destinations of staggering amounts of criminal proceeds, are undermining public trust in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.”
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