In a jaw-dropping move, Telegram has wiped out the largest black market in internet history, shutting down two massive crypto crime networks — Haowang Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee. These shady marketplaces, operating right under everyone's nose on Telegram, facilitated over $35 billion in dirty crypto deals, offering everything from money laundering to stolen data and even sex trafficking services. 😱 The crackdown followed revelations from blockchain sleuths at Elliptic (Elliptic is a British blockchain analytics firm headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Singapore) and an explosive investigation by WIRED (Wired is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics) , which exposed the true scale of these digital crime empires.
💀 Haowang Guarantee, previously known as Huione Guarantee, abruptly ceased operations on May 13, blaming Telegram for banning its groups, NFTs (Telegram usernames), and channels. Before its shutdown, Haowang had turned into a full-blown crime bazaar — dealing in crypto laundering via Tether (USDT), fake identities, deepfakes, and even torture tools used in human trafficking camps across Southeast Asia. The parent company, Huione Group, is linked to Cambodia's ruling elite and is now under fire from U.S. financial authorities for allegedly laundering over $4 billion — some of it stolen by North Korean hackers! 🚨🇰🇭💰
But the story doesn't end there. Despite the takedowns, criminals are already regrouping. Reports reveal that the masterminds behind Haowang are moving their users to a new black market called Tudou Guarantee — and Xinbi Guarantee is eyeing a shady comeback under the name “Xinbi 2.0.” These platforms aren’t giving up easily because the profits are just too big to walk away from. 🤐📲 They’re betting on Telegram not following through with more bans — or possibly hopping over to decentralized apps with fewer rules.
🔥 According to experts, this is a major blow to global cybercrime, but not the end. Think of it as a game of cat and mouse — except these mice are raking in billions. Elliptic’s Tom Robinson says it best: “This was the biggest dark-net market ever. Shutting it down is huge, but make no mistake — they’ll try to bounce back.” Whether Telegram continues to fight or criminals find a new digital hideout, one thing is clear: the war on crypto crime just hit a turning point. 💥👮♂️🕵️♀️