Telegram-Based Black Market Haowang Guarantee Shuts Down
Illicit marketplace Haowang Guarantee shut down after Telegram blocked its NFTs, channels, and groups, following concerns over scams and data theft.
Chinese-language, Telegram-based black market Haowang Guarantee, also known as Huione Guarantee, announced its closure after the platform blocked its channels, NFTs, and groups.
Previously, media outlets, government authorities, and analytics firms raised concerns about Haowang Guarantee’s operations.
On May 1, 2025, the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) named Huione Group a major player in money laundering and proposed cutting its access to the U.S. financial system.
According to FinCEN, the Cambodia-based Huione Group is behind Haowang Guarantee and operates several other crypto-related businesses, including Huione Pay, a payment platform, and Huione Crypto, a virtual asset service provider.
FinCEN’s investigation found that between August 2021 and January 2025, Huione laundered over $4 billion in illegal funds, including $37 million linked to cyberattacks by North Korean hackers.
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported that criminals used the platforms to scam people, launder money, and trade illicit products.
Haowang Guarantee was one of the largest illicit platforms ever, with transactions totaling at least $27 billion.
In January 2025, Huione launched its stablecoin USDH, used in an application called ChatMe. The company claimed the stablecoin offers users more freedom, as it isn’t restricted by traditional regulatory agencies.
Investigations found that one of the most widespread types of scams on Haowang Guarantee was pig butchering, based on long-term manipulation and deception.
Haowang Guarantee was just one of many black markets operating on Telegram, according to Elliptic. Another major platform was Xinbi Guarantee, which had around 233,000 users.
Elliptic found that crypto addresses linked to Xinbi Guarantee and its active vendors received over $8.4 billion in USDT stablecoin since 2022.
Telegram has since blocked thousands of channels connected to Xinbi Guarantee.
To target fraud victims, vendors there openly promoted:
- Money laundering services,
- Scams,
- Fake IDs,
- Databases of stolen personal information.
Elliptic estimates that Telegram-based black markets have collectively processed more than $35 billion in USDT.
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