Telegram's big action: The largest corrupt black market in history is shut down, $35 billion in criminal activities exposed
Telegram has taken down the largest black market in internet history in a surprise move, shutting down two major crypto crime networks — Haowang Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee — that were secretly operating on Telegram, where more than $35 billion in shady crypto deals were made. They included services as sinister as money laundering, stolen data, fake IDs, and even human trafficking.
The crackdown came after an investigation by Elliptic, a British blockchain analytics firm, and the American magazine WIRED, which revealed how widespread and dangerous these networks had become.
😱 Haowang Guarantee (formerly known as Huione Guarantee) abruptly shut down on May 13, alleging that Telegram had banned their groups, NFTs (i.e. Telegram usernames), and channels. Before the shutdown, the network had become a full-fledged criminal marketplace, where Tether (USDT) was used to launder money, fake documents, deepfakes, and even torture devices for human trafficking in Southeast Asia.
He is being linked to Cambodia's influential ruling class and the Huione Group, which US authorities have accused of laundering more than $4 billion — including some stolen by North Korean hackers.
🚨 But the story doesn’t end there. According to reports, Haowang’s masterminds are now moving users to a new black market platform called Tudou Guarantee, while Xinbi Guarantee is also trying to make a comeback under the name “Xinbi 2.0.” The criminals believe that either Telegram will not take further action or they will soon move to a decentralized app with less strict rules.
🌍 Experts say this is a major blow against global cybercrime, but the war is not over yet. Elliptic expert Tom Robinson says:
"It was the largest darknet market in history. Its closure is a big deal, but these criminals will definitely try to re-emerge."
It’s a game of cat and mouse — the only difference is that these mice have billions of dollars of power. It remains to be seen whether Telegram will lead this battle or whether these criminals will turn to a new digital haven.
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