Telegram has closed its illegal market Haowang guarantee, previously Huione guaranteed, which has facilitated transactions over stubcoin totalling more than $27 billion since 2021.
Haowang was closed on Tuesday based on insights provided by Blockchain Analytics company Elliptic.
The closure comes amid crackdowns on thousands of suspicious Chinese crypto crime channels operating in telegrams, following reports on Elliptic’s market Xinbi guarantees.
Telegram is currently shutting down both Huione and Xinbi, combining it with $35 billion illegal transactions with Stablecoins, Elliptic wrote in a web post Wednesday.
“Our analysis shows that since its launch in 2021, Huione Guarantee has driven more than $27 billion in transactions totaling, making it the largest illegal online market to date,” writes Elliptic.
Xinbi is the second largest, with its processed transaction worth $8.4 billion since 2022, Elliptic added.
For perspective, prominent “dark web” marketplaces such as the Silk Road and Alpha Bay have processed $216 million and $639 million, respectively.
Such a market has historically been operated through anonymous browser TOR, but recently it has shifted its operations to Telegram, a messaging app with over 1 billion users.
Huione and Xinbi are called “guaranteed” marketplaces, designated as a platform that does not sell products or services themselves, but offers venues for merchants to sell to customers.
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