Analysts at Elliptic have described the online marketplace Huione Guarantee as the world’s largest illicit trading platform. Transaction volume has exceeded $24bn, and the user base has topped 900,000.
New research: Huione Guarantee is the largest illicit online marketplace of all time — providing scammers with the tools they need to perpetrate pig butchering and other fraud against victims worldwide, on an industrial scale.https://t.co/EzJdnsAR0e
— Elliptic (@elliptic) January 14, 2025
The platform is part of Huione Group, a conglomerate owned by Cambodia’s ruling Hun family. It was set up in 2021 as a marketplace for legitimate goods such as real estate and cars. Most listings, however, cater to cybercriminals.
In July 2024, Elliptic accused Huione Guarantee of links to money laundering and various offences in Southeast Asia.
After the research was published, the platform tried to distance itself from Huione Group by rebranding as Haowang Guarantee. Huione Pay, the conglomerate’s payments business, removed from its website a section about Huione Guarantee that had described it as a subsidiary.
Despite the distancing, Huione Guarantee confirmed that Huione Group remains “strategic partner and shareholder”.
The listing policy has also changed. Previously the marketplace disclaimed responsibility for items posted on it. It now bans any listings related to “human trafficking”, “firearms” and “terrorism”.
Huione Guarantee operates mainly through a network of Telegram channels. After running into restrictions following the previous report, however, the platform launched a number of new services. These include:
- the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDH, designed to evade regulation and asset freezes;
- the Huione Chain blockchain (also known as Xone Chain) with a native token, HC;
- a crypto wallet and Poland-based decentralised exchange, Huione Crypto;
- the ChatMe messaging app.
The restructuring has not dented the marketplace’s takings. Since July, monthly inflows have risen by 51%. Elliptic has identified thousands of wallets linked to Huione enterprises and illicit suppliers operating under its guarantee.
Of the $24bn cited, nearly $6bn in cryptocurrency flowed through a Telegram bot used mainly for online gambling on Huione Guarantee. An initial analysis of wagers suggests much of the turnover may represent money laundering.
Given the new data, experts consider the platform a key tool for transnational organised crime groups perpetrating fraud worldwide.
In May 2024, Elliptic developed an AI-based system capable of effectively detecting money laundering through bitcoin transactions.