The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has shut down the TradeOgre cryptocurrency exchange. It is reported that more than $40 million in cryptocurrency was seized, allegedly obtained through criminal activity.
This is the first time Canadian authorities have closed a cryptocurrency exchange, and it is also the largest asset seizure in the country’s history.
TradeOgre was a small platform that emphasized user privacy and primarily dealt with niche altcoins as well as the Monero cryptocurrency. The exchange allowed users to bypass Know Your Customer (KYC) identification procedures and did not comply with Canadian laws and regulations.
Canadian authorities launched an investigation into TradeOgre’s activities in June 2024 after receiving a report from Europol. In late July 2025, the platform went offline without any explanation, which raised suspicions that the platform’s operators had carried out an exit scam (that is, attempted to disappear with users’ funds).
However, law enforcement has now stated that they were the ones who shut down the exchange’s website. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say that TradeOgre was operating illegally because it “did not register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) as a financial services provider and did not identify its customers.”
Since the exchange did not require users to provide identification when creating an account, investigators believe that TradeOgre was used by cybercriminals for money laundering. But not all of the platform’s clients were criminals. For example, Taylor Monahan of MetaMask stated that she herself and her friends used TradeOgre.
“We look forward to seeing the evidence and to your making restitution to ALL innocent parties from whom you stole money without notice and due process,” Monahan writes.
RCMP representatives told Bleeping Computer that they cannot “confirm that all of the seized cryptocurrencies are connected to illegal transactions.”
“We cannot comment on whether specific types of criminal activity took place on the platform, such as extortion, and we cannot provide information about criminal sources that may have used the platform for money laundering,” law enforcement officials said.
However, the RCMP said the platform was allegedly used to launder proceeds of cybercrime due to its anonymity and support for Monero.
Canadian authorities assured that all TradeOgre clients who have not committed crimes “can seek protection from the Canadian judicial system if the RCMP decides to pursue confiscation of cryptocurrency.” At the same time, any questions regarding the seized assets should be directed to the anti-money-laundering investigative team, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said on social media.