Haowang Guarantee, formerly known as Huione Guarantee, has ceased all operations immediately after being blocked across the messaging service Telegram.
The latest developments come days after the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’s proposal to bar the firm from enabling illicit activities. Officials stated that the company facilitated the laundering of illicit funds from online scams. The malicious activities led to significant financial losses for victims.
Telegram Crackdown on Crypto Scam Links
In an announcement on its official website, Haowang Guarantee disclosed that all its NFTs, channels, and groups had been taken down by Telegram. Known as the internet’s biggest black market of all time, Haowang Guarantee operated in plain sight on Telegram for years. With its infrastructure effectively dismantled, the company had no choice but to halt all operations.
The shutdown comes in the wake of Telegram’s sweeping crackdown on accounts tied to crypto-related scams and money laundering. These actions have particularly targeted those affecting East Asian markets.
Before the shutdown, Haowang Guarantee allowed third-party vendors to provide a variety of services, such as personal data, to crypto scammers. All transactions were conducted via Telegram, using deposit and escrow systems to “guarantee” the deals. These merchants primarily offered money laundering services via the cryptocurrency Tether.
Along with its action on Haowang, Telegram also shut down accounts linked to Xinbi Guarantee. This is another platform that allegedly offered similar illegal transactions and facilitated $8.4 billion in deals since 2022.
Elliptic’s Role in the Crackdown
Telegram’s move to ban the marketplaces’ accounts appears to be in response to earlier research by the blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. The researchers highlighted the enormous volume of money laundering and other illicit transactions taking place on Haowang Guarantee.
According to the analytics firm, the market has facilitated more than $27 billion in transactions. This would make it by far the largest single black market operation in internet history.
“This is a huge win. It’s a game changer in terms of overall online criminal markets, and it’s huge for victims of online fraud. This marketplace was a key enabler of the global scam epidemic, and I think this will put a real dent in the ability of online scammers to do what they do,” Elliptic cofounder Tom Robinson said.
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