PANews reported on March 11 that according to Bloomberg, European cryptocurrency regulators are reviewing the use of a service provided by the crypto exchange OKX, which hackers used to launder $1.5 billion stolen from the trading platform Bybit, according to people familiar with the matter. These people requested anonymity because the review process is confidential. They said that national regulators from the 27 EU member states discussed the issue at a meeting hosted by the European Securities and Markets Authority's Standing Committee on Digital Finance on March 6. OKX is regulated by the EU's new Crypto Asset Market Regulation.

Two people familiar with the matter said regulators are focusing on OKX's Web3 service, which OKX promotes as a decentralized finance platform and self-custodial wallet that gives cryptocurrency traders access to a variety of exchanges and blockchains. Bybit said authorities believe hackers linked to North Korea laundered about $100 million in stolen cryptocurrency through the Web3 platform.

The regulators are focused on whether Web3 platforms fall under MiCA’s jurisdiction and, if so, what potential penalties should be imposed on OKX, these people said.The Bybit attack is the largest and most sophisticated to hit the cryptocurrency industry to date, highlighting key vulnerabilities in the ecosystem as North Korean hackers increasingly target exchanges. The hackers quickly laundered the tokens they stole, mostly Ethereum, through decentralized platforms and so-called cross-chain bridges.