Telegram Shuts Down 'Largest Illicit Online Marketplace' After Elliptic's Insights

Telegram has shut down the illicit marketplace Haowang Guarantee, formerly Huione Guarantee, which has facilitated transactions totaling over $27 billion in stablecoins since 2021. Haowang was shut down based on insights provided by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic on Tuesday. The closure took place amidst a crackdown on thousands of suspected Chinese crypto-crime channels operating on Telegram, following Elliptic's report into marketplace Xinbi Guarantee. Telegram has now shut down both Huione and Xinbi, which processed a combined $35 billion of illicit transactions in stablecoins, Elliptic wrote in a web post on Wednesday. "Our analysis indicates that Huione Guarantee has facilitated transactions totalling more than $27 billion since launching in 2021, making it the largest illicit online marketplace to have ever operated," Elliptic wrote. Xinbi was the second largest, having processed transactions worth $8.4 billion since 2022, Elliptic added. For perspective, notable "dark web" marketplaces such as the Silk Road and Alphabay processed $216 million and $639 million respectively. Such marketplaces historically operated through anonymous browser Tor, but have more recently shifted their operations to Telegram, the messaging app with over a billion users. Huione and Xinbi are referred to as "guarantee" marketplaces, a term designated for platforms that do not sell goods and services themselves, but provide a venue for merchants to sell to customers. Read More: 1 in 5 Cross-Chain Crypto Investigations Involve More Than 10 Blockchains, Elliptic Finds