According to a new report by TRM Labs, in a radical oppression of the so-called telegram market ecosystem, the messaging giant banned the Huione Guarantee (also known as Haowang Guarantee) and Xinbi Guarantee, disrupting the market that collectively handled more than $35 billion in USDT negative trading.
These forums provided escrow and laundry services to cybercrime and fraud syndicates, including those operating the pig but drug scheme.
Telegram’s move was in response to a survey by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which revealed the large scale of Huione guarantees. This has facilitated the long-running Chinese market, fraud tools, stolen data and illegal escrow services.
However, the ban closed these major platforms and removed thousands of channels and aliases, but little to curb the overall ecological activity.
Instead, according to a report from TRM Labs, the volume of the transaction quickly moved to Tudou Guarantee, a telegram-based platform in which Huione Group already holds stock.
Huione guarantee volume plummeted 50% from its peak in 2024, but Tudou shows a 70-fold increase in daily inflows, indicating a strategic movement of activity. Within a few days, Tudou’s user base and daily USDT volume were closer to the level previously handled by Huione Guarantee, the report said.
According to a May report, Elliptic also identified more than 30 alternative guaranteed platforms that have gained traction in the wake of purges.
Xinbi guarantees were banned on the same day as Huione, rebounded quickly, and after reappearing on Telegram under the same ID, the daily influx surged by 90%.
US crackdowns increase
Meanwhile, US regulators have increased the crimes of Huione.
In early May, Fincen issued the proposed Section 311 rules to designate the Huione Group as financial institutions of major financial concerns. The rules cited at least $4 billion in illegal income washed from cyber robberies, pig but humiliation scams and crypto frauds between August 2021 and January 2025.
US authorities escalated enforcement, naming the Huione Group a money laundering threat and authorizing related wallets and vendors. Later that month, OFAC imposed sanctions on two Crypto Wallets linked to Funnull Technology and Huione Group, promoting the Pig-Butchering scam, resulting in more than $200 million in losses.
Huione Pay, the group’s Cambodian-based payment service provider, continues to operate despite the most visible backend dismantling. Huione’s umbrella also includes Crypto Exchange and its own Stablecoin, USDH.
Read more: Most illegal on-chain activities now include stablecoins:fatf
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