In a shocking move, #Telegram has taken down the biggest illegal online market in history, shutting down two major crypto crime networks – Haowang Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee. These underground marketplaces were secretly running on Telegram and were involved in over $35 billion worth of illegal crypto transactions. They offered services like money laundering, stolen data, fake IDs, and even sex trafficking.
This action came after investigations by Elliptic (a UK-based blockchain analysis company) and WIRED magazine, which exposed how big and dangerous these platforms had become.
One of the main networks, Haowang Guarantee (which used to be called Huione Guarantee), shut down suddenly on May 13. They blamed #Telegram for removing their groups, usernames (NFTs), and channels. Before this, Haowang had turned into a full-scale criminal marketplace — helping with crypto laundering through USDT, selling fake identities and deepfakes, and even tools used for torture in human trafficking camps in Southeast Asia. The parent company, Huione Group, has connections to powerful people in Cambodia and is now being investigated by U.S. authorities for laundering over $4 billion, some of which was stolen by North Korean hackers.
But the criminals aren’t giving up. They’re already trying to rebuild. The people behind Haowang are moving their users to a new black market called Tudou Guarantee, and Xinbi Guarantee is planning a comeback as Xinbi 2.0. These platforms make so much money that their owners don’t want to stop. They’re hoping Telegram won’t ban them again, or they might switch to more unregulated platforms like decentralized apps.
Experts say this was a big win against online crime, but it’s not the end. It’s more like a game of cat and mouse — except the "mice" are making billions. Tom Robinson from Elliptic put it clearly: “This was the biggest dark-net market ever. Shutting it down is huge, but they’ll definitely try to return.”
Whether Telegram keeps fighting or criminals find another place to hide, one thing is sure: the battle against crypto crime has entered a new phase.
$TON
