This is in connection with the recent Bybit hack, where they reportedly lost $1.5 billion. Shortly after, an article came out titled...
Bybit Funds on the Move, Could be Headed for Bitcoin Mixers ‘Next’: Elliptic
As you can see, they used the word "could," which means there’s no confirmed result yet on where the money will actually go. It’s like they’re implying that in any illegal activity, including this hack, the hackers will automatically launder the funds through a mixer to cash out, making it harder to track.
No wonder mixers have developed a bad reputation. Even though they’re meant for privacy, illegal transactions like these overshadow their legitimate uses.
Thoughts.....
A few years ago, when Bitmixer's owner decided to shut down the service, he said something similar - When you sell a knife and you know that most of your customers are killers, should you still sell the knife? I think you shouldn't and that's why I want to shut down this service.
After making this statement, he said that he believes Monero is the best currency for those who seek true privacy and then he left this forum with his website.
The reputation of mixers has never been good but Bitcoin and mixers also were under the shadow for a long time except these days. Now Bitcoin is very popular, blockchain analysis is more advanced and things rarely get hidden or under shadows. Governments don't like Bitcoin mixers, so they'll always use every situation to mention mixers negatively.