Latest Investigation Reveals Telegram Fraud Network Operating Under “Xinbi Guarantee”
According to a recent investigation published by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, a Telegram trading community named “Xinbi Guarantee” has been masking its operations under a registration in Colorado, USA, while actually providing large-scale fraud tools and money laundering services in Southeast Asia. The platform uses Telegram as its primary communication tool and has received over $8.4 billion USD in crypto funds to date, with some funds traceable to North Korean hacking activities and “pig butchering” scams. As Telegram’s official channels have recently shut down thousands of related accounts, the tip of this underground economy has just begun to emerge.
New Telegram Market Favorites: Xinbi Guarantee and Huibang Guarantee Thrive in Fraud Industry
Following the exit of early dark web marketplaces like Silk Road and AlphaBay, Telegram is rapidly replacing the Tor browser as the new generation of illegal trading platforms. Another Telegram market, “Huibang Guarantee,” previously revealed by Elliptic, has a total transaction volume of $27 billion, while the newly exposed “Xinbi Guarantee” is not far behind, with its user base skyrocketing from 119,000 in August 2024 to 233,000 currently. Both platforms primarily use Chinese and USDT as their main payment method, specifically targeting Southeast Asian fraud groups.
Black Market Goods Categorized: From Fake IDs to Various Services Available
Merchants within Xinbi Guarantee are divided into nine major categories, four of which specialize in money laundering services, openly listing the sources of funds they can handle, such as “pig butchering” and various chat scams (like “premium chat,” “slow kill,” “fast kill”). Other items for sale include Starlink satellite internet equipment (often used by fraud parks for external communication), fake documents, stolen personal data databases, and even services for money laundering, surrogacy, and illegal surveillance. Some services even touch on forced labor and the sexual exploitation of minors, with victims as young as 14 years old.
Elliptic Locks Down Wallets: Tracking $8.4 Billion USD in Transactions
According to Elliptic’s analysis, the crypto wallets used by this platform and its merchants have cumulatively received over $8.4 billion in USDT since 2022. Notably, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the platform saw its first quarterly inflow surpassing $1 billion, indicating an astonishing growth rate. These transaction volumes have already surpassed those of the dark web era’s Silk Road, making it the second-largest illegal crypto marketplace in history, only behind Huibang Guarantee.
“Registered in the US” as a Cover: The Truth Behind the Colorado Company
Surprisingly, this multinational illegal marketplace is registered in the United States. According to inquiries, Xinbi Co., Ltd was established in August 2022 in Colorado, with its registered office located in Aurora. However, as of January 2025, the company has been marked as “overdue” by the state government for failing to submit reports. Nevertheless, this layer of a legitimate company undoubtedly adds to its cover in international financial circulation.
Northern Korean Hacked Funds Laundered Through Xinbi Guarantee
Elliptic has also discovered that some of the stolen funds from North Korean hacking activities have flowed into Xinbi Guarantee. In July 2024, the Indian exchange WazirX was hacked, resulting in a loss of $235 million, which Elliptic believes is related to North Korea. Investigations indicate that these funds passed through decentralized exchanges and cross-chain bridges, with $220,000 in USDT traced back to addresses linked to Xinbi Guarantee, split into nine transactions, suggesting that platform merchants are suspected of providing money laundering services for the hacker organization.
Behind Xinbi Guarantee: A Chinese Underground Banking Network
Both Huibang and Xinbi Guarantee are not just hotbeds for fraud; they also reveal a Chinese underground banking system based on stablecoins and digital payments. These platforms provide a complete ecosystem for the global fraud industry, encompassing everything from personal data to capital flow. Elliptic is currently tracking over 30 similar platforms and is calling on exchanges and stablecoin issuers to enhance wallet monitoring to disrupt such capital movements.
The Xinbi Guarantee incident showcases how digital financial tools can be manipulated by criminals to create a transnational fraud empire. In the face of such underground economic networks, relying solely on platform regulation may not be sufficient.
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