- Telegram has shut down Chinese darknet marketplace Haowang Guarantee
- The marketplace relied heavily on Telegram to communicate and conduct its trade
- Haowang Guarantee has announced that it’s shutting down due to its accounts being banned on Telegram
Social media platform Telegram has shut down Chinese darknet marketplace Haowang Guarantee, formerly known as Huione Guarantee. The marketplace acknowledged the shutdown, saying thousands of its Telegram accounts had been banned, noting that it relied heavily on the social media platform to conduct its trade. Haowang Guarantee’s closure has, however, left room for similar criminal groups to thrive on the social media platform, a sign that Telegram needs to be extra vigilant to prevent such groups from operating on the platform.
“NFTs, Channels, and Groups” Blocked
According to a notice on the marketplace’s website, Telegram blocked all of its “NFTs, channels, and groups.” The website also displays a reminder that the marketplace doesn’t support businesses conducting theft, human trafficking, drug trade, violence, and terrorism.
It also clarified that services within the marketplace “are provided by third-party merchants and have nothing to do with Haowang Guarantee,” saying it only provides “guarantee services.”
A Telegram spokesperson told Wired that the move to ban the marketplace’s accounts is part of the social media platform’s efforts to stop “criminal activities like scamming or money laundering.” The spokesperson added that Telegram removes such activities when they’re discovered.
It’s “Far More Difficult” To Relaunch
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic disclosed that it helped take down the marketplace, adding that the takedown makes “it far more difficult for” the marketplace to relaunch. Elliptic noted that Haowang Guarantee’s shutdown shows the power of collaboration in “disrupting financial crime at scale.”
🚨 Elliptic research leads to the shutdown of the two largest online criminal marketplaces of all time 🚨
On May 13, 2025, @telegram took decisive action to shut down Huione Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee — two vast illicit marketplaces operating on its platform — following… pic.twitter.com/PJ4OMD4iZ9
— Elliptic (@elliptic) May 15, 2025
Haowang Guaantee specialized in laundering stolen funds, selling stolen data, fake IDS, and tools to confine workers in big butchering camps in Asia. The marketplace has helped move close to $30 billion of illicit funds.
The marketplace’s shutdown comes two weeks after the U.S. Treasury described it as a “primary money laundering concern” under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act.
With Haowang Guarantee shutting down, similar platforms will likely crop up to fill the void.
