A major illegal crypto marketplace called Huione Guarantee was shut down in May after Telegram blocked thousands of its accounts and channels; after its shutdown, its users have moved to at least 30 other similar marketplaces.
It is worth noting that one of them, called Tudou Guarantee, gained the most; its number of users doubled since May, and it has taken over much of Huione’s previous business.
Elliptic found in its report that, “ Tudou Guarantee has seen users more than double, and cryptocurrency inflows are now approximately equal to those seen for Huione Guarantee prior to its shutdown.”
According to the report by Elliptic, “ USDT transactions have effectively ceased at Huione Guarantee, reflecting the closure of the dark marketplace. (Bottom) Daily USDT volumes at Huione Pay have been largely unaffected by the shutdown of Huione Guarantee, or Huione Group’s designation by FinCEN.”
The report also notes that, “ Huione Pay and Huione Guarantee were engaged in very different activities, with distinct crypto wallet infrastructure. By analyzing blockchain transactions at a more granular level, it is clear that, although Huione Pay continues to transact high volumes, Huione Guarantee’s transactions have effectively ceased.”
What is Tudou Guarantee, and how does it differ from Huione Guarantee?
Tudou Guarantee and Huione Guarantee are both Chinese language Telegram-based ‘guarantee marketplaces’ that are used as an escrow-like platform, primarily facilitating illicit transactions for online scammers, especially in Southeast Asia.
Huione Guarantee was the largest illicit online marketplace ever recorded, facilitating over $27 billion in transactions from 2021 until its shutdown on May 13, 2025. It was part of the Cambodia-based Huione Group, a conglomerate linked to the country’s ruling Hun Family and operated as a Telegram-based platform for scammers.
Telegram shut down Huione in May this year following the research by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which exposed its role in facilitating billions in scam-related transactions.
As per the available information, Huione Group holds a 30% stake in Tudou Guarantee; this financial link suggests that Tudou is partially controlled or influenced by Huione Group.
Tudou Guarantee has seen rapid growth in May 2025, especially after the shutdown of Huione Guarantee. Tudou serves as a significant player in the illicit guarantee ecosystem.
How does Telegram facilitate illicit crypto activities?
Platforms like Tudou Guarantee and the now-defunct Huione Guarantee operate on Telegram, offering escrow services for illicit transactions, including money laundering, stolen data sales, and scam infrastructure.
This type of marketplace has enabled scammers to operate with trust using Telegram infrastructure to connect anonymous buyers and sellers.
Over time, the role of Telegram for crypto has turned into a double-edged sword; its privacy features, large group chats, and bot integration make it a go-to platform for the crypto community, which has more than 800 million users.