{"id":20335,"date":"2025-01-15T10:39:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T08:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/huione-guarantees-illicit-marketplace-turnover-exceeds-24bn\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T10:39:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T08:39:52","slug":"huione-guarantees-illicit-marketplace-turnover-exceeds-24bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/huione-guarantees-illicit-marketplace-turnover-exceeds-24bn\/","title":{"rendered":"Huione Guarantee\u2019s illicit marketplace turnover exceeds $24bn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Analysts at Elliptic have described the online marketplace Huione Guarantee as the world\u2019s largest illicit trading platform. Transaction volume has exceeded $24bn, and the user base has topped 900,000.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">New research: Huione Guarantee is the largest illicit online marketplace of all time \u2014 providing scammers with the tools they need to perpetrate pig butchering and other fraud against victims worldwide, on an industrial scale.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/EzJdnsAR0e\">https:\/\/t.co\/EzJdnsAR0e<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elliptic (@elliptic) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elliptic\/status\/1879114315632136575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The platform is part of Huione Group, a conglomerate owned by Cambodia\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>In July 2024, Elliptic <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/elliptic-uncovers-fraudulent-online-marketplace-with-11-billion-in-cryptocurrency-transactions\">accused<\/a> Huione Guarantee of links to money laundering and various offences in Southeast Asia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After the research was published, the platform tried to distance itself from Huione Group by rebranding as Haowang Guarantee. Huione Pay, the conglomerate\u2019s payments business, removed from its website a section about Huione Guarantee that had described it as a subsidiary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite the distancing, Huione Guarantee confirmed that Huione Group remains \u201cstrategic partner and shareholder\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-qw.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXcfBbC5E7flFwm0jvzsZ5CqhUqBmdX9leT7kIMTDTHopiqr3VNvGsezmaUb0MH_3q1803xIlZZ_FsW_DQ3aGj1d82bebucgFMAnPyc-EmSD6RUzwYXl6urqag5K4XVFLsexTEoS7Q?key=DPFjQPB3AKDeokScRXQmVGDu\" alt=\"Turnover of the fraudulent online marketplace Huione Guarantee exceeded $24bn\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Screenshot of the rebranding notice. Data: Elliptic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The listing policy has also changed. Previously the marketplace disclaimed responsibility for items posted on it. It now bans any listings related to \u201chuman trafficking\u201d, \u201cfirearms\u201d and \u201cterrorism\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>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:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDH, designed to evade regulation and asset freezes;<\/li>\n<li>the Huione Chain blockchain (also known as Xone Chain) with a native token, HC;<\/li>\n<li>a crypto wallet and Poland-based decentralised exchange, Huione Crypto;<\/li>\n<li>the ChatMe messaging app.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The restructuring has not dented the marketplace\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-qw.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXe-M7sDB81Db88PahsVE1Mal0fpvmiS61GmPoxlmhmuk0nXpXLwQaUC_UfScZtq8xhsfHojkdwGOpppch3gRXUGRC-Hcs-rlL3i2TkczHof3FFf_ijz1bLIwAb3icXiA9O705vLlA?key=DPFjQPB3AKDeokScRXQmVGDu\" alt=\"Turnover of the fraudulent online marketplace Huione Guarantee exceeded $24bn\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Value of cryptocurrency received by Huione Guarantee and its suppliers. Data: Elliptic.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Given the new data, experts consider the platform a key tool for transnational organised crime groups perpetrating fraud worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>In May 2024, Elliptic developed an <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/elliptic-harnesses-ai-to-detect-bitcoin-money-laundering\">AI-based system<\/a> capable of effectively detecting money laundering through bitcoin transactions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Analysts at Elliptic have described the online marketplace Huione Guarantee as the world\u2019s 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 \u2014 providing scammers with the tools they need to perpetrate pig butchering and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1154,44,1535,822,1246],"class_list":["post-20335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-crimes","tag-cybercrime","tag-elliptic","tag-marketplace","tag-scammers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"59","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}