Cryptomixer, a cryptocurrency mixing service allegedly used by cybercriminals to launder illegal bitcoin has been dismantled in a coordinated law enforcement operation in Zurich, the European Union’s law enforcement agency Europol said on Monday.
The removal, which was carried out on 24-28 November by Swiss and German police together with Europol, resulted in the seizure of three servers, the cryptomixer.io domain, more than 25 million euros ($29 million) in bitcoin and over 12 terabytes of data.
Authorities said Cryptomixer has facilitated more than 1.3 billion euros in bitcoin laundering since 2016. Its long settlement windows and randomized distribution patterns made it a preferred tool for obfuscating proceeds from drug trafficking, arms sales, ransomware attacks and payment card fraud, they said.
Crypto mixers are services that collect and redistribute user funds to hide their origin. While mixers claim to offer privacy, they are also popular as money laundering tools for ransomware gangs, dark web markets and other cybercriminals.
By breaking the onchain transaction trail, mixers allow crypto whose provenance cannot be traced to be sent to exchanges and converted into other assets or fiat. High-profile examples include Tornado Cash, whose operators were sanctioned and prosecuted for enabling billions in illegal flows.
Europol supported the takedown through forensic analysis and coordination, marking another major shutdown of the mixer following its role in the 2023 ChipMixer operation, the agency said in the release.
