For several years, the emergence of internet black market was thriving on messaging service Telegram, planning billions of dollars’ worth of illegal transactions.
That telegram market is most widely seen as the biggest black market in the world. It was the go-to for crypto scammers as an accessible platform to exploit, rendering it far too simple for all types of illegal enterprise, including tether money laundering. Now, after a high-profile crackdown, platform Haowang Guarantee has been compelled to shut its doors, as in a major victory against cybercrime.
Haowang Guarantee Shutdown
Haowang Guarantee, has announced its shutdown on May 13, following Telegram banning thousands of accounts that were the basis of its illicit activities. The platform which had facilitated over $27 billion in illicit trade, largely in the guise of Tether (USDT), specializes in offering a range of criminal services.
Illegal services ranged from money laundering, crypto-based personal information hacked to be utilized for scams like “pig butchering,” deep fake technology, and even physical restraint devices used in Southeast Asia-based scam call centers.
“Since all our NFTs, channels and groups were suspended by Telegram on May 13, 2025, Haowang Guarantee will shut down from now on,” the company claimed on its website.
The closure comes after blockchain security firm Elliptic and WIRED technology publication raised questions after exposing the internet black market size. Elliptic has previously monitored billions of dollars moving through Huione Guarantee, many of which were laundered via tether money laundering networks like Huione Pay, the banking arm of Huione Group, which had its banking license suspended by the National Bank of Cambodia recently for non-compliance.
Crypto Fraud Defeated but New Markets Rise
The shutdown of Haowang Guarantee is a major victory for the fight against online crypto fraud.
“This is a huge win. The largest dark-net marketplace to have ever existed has been shut down,” says Elliptic co-founder Tom Robinson.
It will make a real step in the ability for web fraudsters to get away with what they do, he added, citing that the service had played an instrumental role in enabling the world scam plague. Telegram’s representative Remi Vaughn only stated that all groups connected with the illegal activity had been terminated in accordance with Telegram’s terms of use.
“Criminal activities like scamming or money laundering are forbidden by Telegram’s terms of service and are always removed whenever discovered,” he said.
However, despite this massive shock, scholars have already discovered other such black market use websites like Xinbi Guarantee and Tudou Guarantee, which are starting to gain momentum. Xinbi Guarantee, for one, has already helped enable an estimated $8.4 billion worth of activity.
Consistent with Robinson, Tudou Guarantee, whose operators allegedly have ties to Haowang, has also seen a massive number of new registrations after the shutdown.
Huione Group’s Ongoing Influence
The recent withdrawal of Huione Pay’s banking license indicates the ongoing efforts to stop internet black market and illegal activities related to Huione Group. The company’s Telegram market, identified by the United Nations as among Southeast Asia’s most important sites for criminal commerce, has been linked to black market online site for scams such as “pig butchering.”
Taking the banking license for Huione Pay away is a positive move, analysts caution, but it may simply be a rebranding exercise intended to avoid real accountability.
These young platforms are indicative of the continued issue of limiting crypto black market use. Although Telegram’s action has disrupted one of the largest black markets ever, the experts opine that it could be only a temporary loss.
As per Robinson, whether the initiative is successful will depend on how aggressively the platform will continue to pursue such markets when they re-surface in their next incarnation.
Final Thoughts
While Telegram’s decision to shut down Haowang Guarantee is a win against one of the largest ever internet black market, it is the question of whether this is the end of such crypto-fueled crime, or merely a step back.
With every black market online site opening and hackers finding ways around bans, it’s clear that the problem is still far from solved. Can messaging apps like Telegram successfully impose lasting change, or will they forever be facilitating illicit activities?
How effective will attempts at regulation prove in destroying this Telegram black market?
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