Telegram has responded to Elliptic's research by closing thousands of channels belonging to both Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee, severely disrupting the two largest Telegram-based illicit marketplaces, which have collectively engaged in over $35 billion in USDT transactions. Elliptic continues to track over 30 similar marketplaces.

• Xinbi Guarantee is a Chinese-language, Telegram-based marketplace serving fraudsters in South East Asia, including those responsible for so-called “pig butchering” scams.
• Merchants on the marketplace sell technology, personal data and money laundering services. The USDT stablecoin is the primary payment method, with the market having received $8.4 billion in transactions to date. Some transactions can be linked to funds stolen by North Korea.
• Xinbi Guarantee claims to operate through Xinbi Co. Ltd, incorporated in Colorado.

...