Telegram Darknet Market Surge: New Crypto Scams Emerge After Huione Guarantee Shutdown

Telegram, the messaging app hailed by many in the crypto community for its privacy and group features, has become a digital cesspool of illicit activity following the shutdown of Huione Guarantee, a massive darknet marketplace. Closed by Telegram in May 2025 after facilitating over $27 billion in shady transactions, its absence has sparked a frenzy of over 30 new platforms stepping in to fill the void, proving that in the world of decentralized tech, crushing one giant often spawns a horde of smaller, equally dangerous players.

• Huione Guarantee Shutdown: Terminated by Telegram on May 13, 2025, after handling $27 billion in illicit deals.
• New Darknet Players: Over 30 Chinese-language marketplaces have emerged, with Tudou Guarantee taking the lead.
• Telegram’s Wider Woes: A 2,000% spike in malware attacks and a $50 million altcoin scam expose deeper risks.

Huione Guarantee’s Fall: A $35 Billion Legacy of Crime

On May 13, 2025, Telegram shut down Huione Guarantee, a notorious darknet marketplace that blockchain analytics firm Elliptic exposed for enabling over $27 billion in transactions tied to scams, money laundering, and other illegal activities since 2021. For the uninitiated, guarantee marketplaces operate as escrow services for scammers, holding funds (often in USDT, or Tether, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar for transaction stability) until deals are complete. These deals often involve stolen data, SIM cards, or infrastructure for industrial-scale fraud, primarily targeting markets in China and Southeast Asia. Alongside its sister platform, Xinbi Guarantee, which racked up $8.4 billion, the combined total of illicit activity hits a staggering $35 billion—a number that makes historical darknet hubs like Silk Road ($216 million) and Alphabay ($639 million) look like small-time hustlers.

Think Silk Road was a big deal? Compare its petty cash to a figure over 150 times larger, and you’ll see how crypto, especially stablecoins like USDT, has turbocharged the scale of underground markets. Elliptic’s research, which tracks and analyzes transactions on public blockchains to uncover patterns of illicit activity, was the catalyst for Telegram’s move, likely amplified by pressure from a U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) designation labeling Huione Group—a “financial institution of primary money laundering concern”—as a high-risk entity for money laundering, triggering intense scrutiny.

New Players on the Block: Tudou and the Darknet Hydra

Shutting down Huione Guarantee was like cutting off one head of a hydra—more just grew back, hungrier than ever. Since May, Elliptic has identified over 30 new Chinese-language guarantee marketplaces on Telegram, each peddling the same toxic menu of money laundering tools, victim data, and scam websites. Leading the pack is Tudou Guarantee, in which Huione holds a 30% stake. Promoted by Huione as its successor before the shutdown, Tudou has skyrocketed, boasting user inflows and transaction volumes rivaling Huione’s peak. It’s not just a replacement; it’s a clone with the same DNA of crime, leveraging Telegram’s anonymity and massive group chats to onboard scammers at breakneck speed, as detailed in recent reports on Tudou’s rise.

Other platforms like Dali, Fully Light, YY, Shuangying, ShengFeng, and Jinbel have also surfaced, though their user numbers fluctuate wildly, lacking Tudou’s sustained dominance. Many of these are likely opportunistic knockoffs, with some even scamming their own criminal clientele—a fraudulent marketplace for fraudsters, if you will. As Elliptic noted in their detailed report on Telegram darknet activity:

“The guarantee market ecosystem is a complex one, with many examples of fake marketplaces seeking to defraud its customers, but Elliptic is currently tracking over thirty highly active markets. The closure of Huione Guarantee has created an opportunity for many of these competitors to fill the gap.”

Behind this proliferation is the Huione Group, the parent entity overseeing Huione Guarantee. Despite the marketplace’s closure and the FinCEN designation earlier in 2025, other arms like Huione Pay—a payments service—and a related crypto exchange continue to operate, even seeing spiked transaction volumes post-designation. Elliptic’s on-chain data shows a clear drop in USDT inflows to Huione-controlled addresses since late May, confirming the original marketplace is dormant. Yet, the persistence of Huione’s other ventures begs the question: what’s the point of regulatory labels if the bad actors just pivot to the next shell game? For more on the aftermath of Huione’s shutdown, the data speaks volumes.

Telegram’s Role: Privacy Champion or Criminal Haven?

Telegram’s issues don’t stop at darknet marketplaces; they’re just the tip of a much murkier iceberg. The platform is grappling with a 2,000% surge in malware attacks in 2023, per reports from crypto exchange OKX, targeting users with phishing links and ransomware. Add to that a recent $50 million scam involving discounted altcoin OTC (over-the-counter) deals—private trades outside public exchanges—and it’s clear Telegram’s features, like anonymity and groups hosting hundreds of thousands, are a fraudster’s playground. Newcomers, lured by promises of quick profits, often fall prey to unsolicited offers or requests for private wallet keys, red flags that scream scam, as discussed in community forums like Reddit threads on Telegram scams.

Telegram defends its hands-off approach by claiming it enables “financial autonomy” for users in regions with capital controls, like China. But let’s not sugarcoat it—financial autonomy? That’s a fancy excuse for letting fraudsters set up shop. Elliptic’s Robinson didn’t hold back when debunking this narrative:

“We’ve been researching these marketplaces for nearly two years now, and they’re not about helping people achieve financial autonomy. These are marketplaces that primarily facilitate money laundering for the proceeds of fraud and other illicit activity.”

Operation Shamrock’s Erin West delivered an even sharper gut punch to Telegram’s complicity:

“These are bad guys, enabling bad-guy business on their bad-guy platform. They have the ability to shut down a scam economy and the trafficking of human beings. Instead, they’re hosting Craigslist for crypto scammers.”

The human cost here isn’t just about drained wallets. Elliptic uncovered merchants on platforms like Xinbi Guarantee selling electric shock shackles for scam compound workers—tools of torture alongside services tied to human trafficking and forced surrogacy. This isn’t petty theft; it’s a window into the horrifying underbelly of crypto-enabled crime, where decentralization’s promise of freedom gets twisted into chains for the vulnerable, a trend explored in depth in analyses of Telegram’s privacy features enabling darknet activity.

Why Won’t Telegram Act? The Decentralization Dilemma

So why isn’t Telegram cracking down harder on platforms like Tudou or the rebuilt Xinbi Guarantee, which operate freely despite the initial purge of Huione and Xinbi in May? Harvard Asia Center’s Jacob Sims suggests Telegram’s actions are reactive, driven by U.S. government heat like the FinCEN designation rather than any moral compass. He points out a harsh reality:

“There’s no real legal culpability that tech companies have for what happens on their platform unless there’s a specific case brought to their attention by law enforcement.”

In short, Telegram operates in a legal gray zone, with little incentive to proactively police its billion-strong user base. Their privacy features, a godsend for dissidents under oppressive regimes, are also a shield for the worst actors. It’s the double-edged sword of decentralization: the same tech that empowers individual liberty can harbor industrial-scale crime if unchecked. Bitcoin maximalists like myself cheer the disruption of centralized control, but even we must admit—freedom doesn’t mean a free-for-all for crooks. Curious about how these scams operate on Telegram? User experiences shed light on the tactics.

Regulatory efforts face their own hurdles. China’s crypto ban, for instance, pushes users to platforms like Telegram for pseudonymous transactions, while the lack of global anti-money-laundering (AML) standards for decentralized systems lets bad actors slip through jurisdictional cracks. It’s like chasing a thief who keeps crossing borders where the cops can’t follow. FinCEN’s designations are a step, but without international sync-up, they’re just paper tigers.

Beyond Marketplaces: The Stablecoin Conundrum and Bitcoin’s Distance

Let’s zoom out to a broader critique. Unlike Bitcoin, which often gets a bad rap but isn’t the go-to for these darknet deals due to its volatility and traceability on a public ledger, USDT dominates these transactions for its stability and pseudonymity. As a stablecoin, Tether’s value peg to the dollar makes it ideal for cross-border crime, but its centralized nature—think ongoing controversies over reserve backing—raises red flags Bitcoin doesn’t face. I’ll tip my hat to altcoins and stablecoins for filling niches BTC doesn’t touch, like fast, stable payments, but when they fuel $35 billion in illicit activity, it’s hard not to grimace, especially with the massive spike in Telegram-based crypto scams reported in 2023.

Compare this to historical darknet markets—Hydra, at $5.6 billion, was a giant, yet Huione and Xinbi dwarf it by a factor of six. Crypto’s mainstream adoption, while a win for disrupting fiat monopolies, brings naive users into the crosshairs of savvy scammers. Every Telegram group promising discounted altcoins or moonshot gains is a potential trap, preying on FOMO and ignorance.

Solutions in Sight: Blockchain Tools and Community Power

Amid the gloom, there’s a flicker of hope. Blockchain analytics, like Elliptic’s meticulous tracing of USDT flows to known scam wallets, offers a way to follow the money and dismantle these networks. Their tools analyze public ledger data to flag suspicious patterns, though they’re not foolproof—privacy coins or mixers can still obscure trails. User education is equally critical. Spotting red flags like unsolicited OTC offers or urgent demands for private keys can save countless wallets. The crypto community must lead here, pushing for awareness since regulators lag behind.

Telegram itself needs to step up. Yes, privacy matters, but hosting a digital bazaar for torture devices and human trafficking isn’t the hill to die on. Stricter policies—proactive bans, not just reactions to government heat—could curb this without torching user freedom. And if Telegram won’t act, what’s stopping governments from cracking down hard, potentially over-regulating the platforms we rely on for uncensored communication? Or worse, what if scammers migrate to even darker corners, adopting privacy-focused blockchains like Monero to hide their tracks? The ongoing rise of new darknet marketplaces on Telegram shows the problem isn’t going away anytime soon.

Playing devil’s advocate for a moment, could Telegram’s inaction stem from a genuine commitment to free speech or fear of alienating users in restrictive regimes? Possibly. But when the harm—financial ruin, human suffering—piles up as evidence, that stance feels more like kicking the can down the road while the neighborhood burns. Decentralization must coexist with accountability, or we risk tainting the entire crypto revolution with the stench of crime.

Key Questions on Telegram’s Darknet Surge

• What led to Huione Guarantee’s shutdown, and how massive was its operation?
  Telegram terminated it on May 13, 2025, after Elliptic exposed over $27 billion in illicit transactions since 2021, totaling $35 billion with Xinbi Guarantee, dwarfing past darknet markets like Silk Road.
• How have new darknet marketplaces on Telegram filled the void?
  Over 30 Chinese-language platforms emerged, with Tudou Guarantee—30% owned by Huione—dominating user inflows and matching Huione’s peak, while others like Dali and YY fluctuate in activity.
• What broader crypto scam issues plague Telegram?
  A 2,000% surge in malware attacks and a $50 million altcoin OTC scam reveal how Telegram’s anonymity fuels fraud, targeting naive users with promises of quick profits.
• Why hasn’t Telegram cracked down on newer marketplaces like Tudou?
  Despite initial bans, Telegram’s lax enforcement and “financial autonomy” rationale, coupled with legal gray zones, allow Tudou and rebuilt Xinbi to operate freely.
• Can decentralization and crime prevention coexist on platforms like Telegram?
  Yes, through blockchain analytics to trace illicit funds, user education on scam red flags, and balanced platform policies that preserve privacy without enabling crime.
• What’s the human cost beyond financial scams on these platforms?
  Elliptic uncovered sales of torture devices like electric shock shackles and services linked to human trafficking on Xinbi Guarantee, exposing the horrific real-world impact of crypto-enabled crime.

The saga of Telegram’s darknet surge is a brutal reminder of crypto’s growing pains. We’re forging the future of money—disrupting centralized control, championing privacy, and accelerating adoption through effective means—but every leap forward attracts parasites exploiting the cracks. Bitcoin itself largely sidesteps this mess, unlike USDT, yet the broader ecosystem’s reputation suffers when platforms like Telegram become havens for criminals. The community, armed with tools like blockchain analytics and a no-nonsense push for education, must drive the charge if platforms won’t. Stay vigilant—this space is as revolutionary as it is risky, and the fight for a decentralized future demands we call out the garbage while building something better.