For years, the Chinese underground marketplace Haowang Guarantee — once the internet’s largest hub for crypto crime — thrived by using Telegram as its backbone. Criminal networks funneled tens of billions of dollars through the service. Now, after extensive investigations and mass account suspensions, the operation has been forced offline.
Haowang Guarantee, previously branded as Huione Guarantee, announced the shutdown on its website: “On May 13, 2025, Telegram terminated all our NFTs, channels, and group. From this point, Haowang Guarantee will cease operations.” In this context, “NFTs” referred to blockchain-based tokens tied to Telegram usernames, functioning as proof of ownership.
The platform maintained ties to its original operator, Huione Guarantee, and its parent entity, Huione Group of Cambodia. Until its dismantling, it served as a one-stop shop for cybercriminals, offering escrow and deposit mechanisms to support fraudulent transactions.
Its core service revolved around laundering funds through Tether (USDT), but the marketplace also sold data sets of potential victims, telecom infrastructure, deepfake technology, and even GPS-enabled shock collars used to control forced laborers in Southeast Asian scam compounds.
The decisive blow came after blockchain analytics firm Elliptic released a report linking the marketplace to more than $24 billion in illicit transactions — later rising to $27 billion. The same report exposed Xinbi Guarantee, another Telegram-based platform, which has processed $8.4 billion worth of illegal trades since 2022, including money laundering, identity theft, harassment, and human trafficking.
“This is a landmark moment,” said Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson. “The largest criminal marketplace ever to exist online has been dismantled. It’s a turning point for cybercrime networks and a meaningful win for the countless victims of online fraud.”
The crackdown coincided with the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to sanction Huione Group and its subsidiaries as major money-laundering operators, further isolating the networks.
While Haowang Guarantee shut down immediately, Xinbi Guarantee appears to be regrouping under new Telegram channels. Elliptic warns that Haowang’s operators are also invested in Tudou Guarantee, a similar marketplace, which may become their new base. Robinson noted a spike in user activity there in recent weeks.
Robinson stressed that the sustainability of these markets will depend on Telegram’s ongoing enforcement: “If Telegram continues to shut down these hubs as soon as they appear, then the platform becomes unviable for organized crime groups. They’ll be forced to migrate to less-regulated messengers or decentralized systems where takedowns are far harder.”
The closure marks a significant disruption but not the end of the ecosystem. “Cybercrime is always a cat-and-mouse chase,” Robinson remarked. “But this time, the blow is heavy enough that recovery will take a long time.”