tl;dr
Telegram-based dark markets quickly replaced the $27 billion Huione Guarantee marketplace after its May 13 shutdown, with activity shifting to Tudou Guarantee, where Huione holds a 30% stake. Despite bans on Huione channels linked to pig-butchering scams, overall dark market volume remained steady a...
Telegram-based dark markets swiftly replaced the $27 billion Huione Guarantee marketplace after its shutdown on May 13, rapidly shifting activity to rival platforms such as Tudou Guarantee, where Huione holds a 30% stake. Despite Telegram banning thousands of Huione Guarantee channels linked to pig-butchering scams, the overall volume of dark market transactions remained steady as merchants duplicated their listings across multiple platforms. These marketplaces operate in Chinese, settle exclusively in USDT, and use an escrow model to conceal the identities of both buyers and sellers.
On-chain data revealed that USDT inflows to Huione dropped to nearly zero following the ban, while Tudou Guarantee’s user numbers more than doubled, and its USDT inflows matched Huione's volumes prior to shutdown. Vendors in these markets supply a range of illicit goods and services essential to large-scale online fraud, including stolen data and money laundering pathways. The escrow model allows dispute resolution without exposing real identities, and the use of Tether’s USDT maintains stable transaction value by eliminating local currency volatility.
It is important to distinguish Huione Guarantee from Huione Pay, a Cambodia-based payment firm still processing large USDT volumes. Although often confused, wallet analysis by Elliptic confirms that Huione Pay remains active despite regulatory scrutiny, including a FinCEN designation labeling its parent Huione Group as a “financial institution of primary money laundering concern.” While Tudou Guarantee led the surge after Huione Guarantee’s closure, smaller competitors also gained traction by replicating merchant listings across various channels.
The crackdown on Huione Guarantee temporarily unsettled a vast network of scammers, intermediaries, and brokers across Southeast Asia and China. However, Elliptic’s data one month post-shutdown showed no lasting volume decline, indicating that liquidity and activity swiftly migrated to alternative platforms. The report emphasizes that only coordinated, sustained removal efforts can effectively disrupt this expanding dark market ecosystem operating within Telegram, which continues to leverage escrow services and USDT settlements as foundational elements.