Today in crypto, German authorities seized $38 million of digital assets from an exchange linked to the Bybit hack in February, US Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw blasted a settlement agreement between the SEC and Ripple, which she says could erode SEC lawyers’ credibility in the court, and Democrats in the US block the GENIUS stablecoin bill from advancing.
Germany seizes $38 million in crypto from Bybit hack-linked eXch exchange
German law enforcement seized 34 million euros ($38 million) in cryptocurrency from eXch, a cryptocurrency platform allegedly used to launder funds stolen after Bybit’s record-breaking $1.4 billion hack.
The seizure, announced on May 9 by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and Frankfurt’s main prosecutor’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’s history.
The authorities also seized eXch’s German server infrastructure with over eight terabytes of data and shut down the platform, the announcement added.
In the statement, the BKA described eXch as a “swapping” service that allowed users to exchange various crypto assets without implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) measures.
The platform had operated since 2014 and reportedly facilitated about $1.9 billion in crypto transfers, some of which were believed to be of “criminal origin,” including assets laundered during the Bybit hack.
“Among other things, a portion of the $1.5 billion stolen from the Bybit crypto exchange, which was hacked on Feb. 21, 2025, is said to have been exchanged via eXch,” the authorities wrote.
SEC’s Crenshaw slams Ripple settlement, warns of “regulatory vacuum”
A crypto-skeptical commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission has blasted her agency over its settlement letter that could finally end the Ripple legal saga.
The SEC and Ripple filed a joint settlement letter in a New York court asking for the August 2024 injunction against Ripple to be dissolved and $75 million of the $125 million in civil penalties held in escrow to be returned to the crypto firm, according to a May 8 statement from the SEC.
SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw blasted the pending deal in a May 8 statement, saying it would damage the regulators’ ability to keep crypto firms in line and undermine the court’s ruling.
“This settlement, alongside the programmatic disassembly of the SEC’s crypto enforcement program, does a tremendous disservice to the investing public and undermines the court’s role in interpreting our securities laws,” she said.
“In the meantime, the settlement joins a line of dismissals that collectively erode the credibility of our lawyers in court who are being asked to take legal positions today contrary to the ones taken just months ago.”
GENIUS stablecoin bill blocked in US Senate
The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) of 2025 Act was blocked by Democrat lawmakers in the Senate on May 8, stalling the bill’s progress.
Although the bill initially received bipartisan support from US lawmakers, Democrats opposed the bill last minute due to concerns over President Donald Trump pushing crypto policies for self-benefit.
Senior officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly stated that using stablecoins to protect the US dollar’s global reserve status was a key policy objective.
Following the stalling of the GENIUS stablecoin bill in the Senate, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote:
“This bill represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to expand dollar dominance and US influence in financial innovation. Without it, stablecoins will be subject to a patchwork of state regulations instead of a streamlined federal framework.”
The Treasury Secretary added that if the US does not encourage innovation in digital assets then crypto firms will move offshore.
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