Telegram Purged Chinese Crypto Scam Markets—Then Watched as They Rebuilt
1 min read
Summary
One month after the Telegram messaging app banned two of the most popular crypto scam services it hosted, Chinese-language criminal marketplaces have returned to the platform, according to a new report from crypto tracing firm Elliptic.
Elliptic’s findings highlight how the black markets have rebuilt after being shut down and have since seen user numbers and transaction volumes return to their previous highs.
One of the largest platforms, Tudou Guarantee, has more than doubled in size, and now offers almost 15mincryptopaymentsperday,closetothe16.4 million facilitated by Haowang Guarantee before it was banned.
Telegram banned the two largest marketplaces, Haowang Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee, on 13 May after they had enabled $35bn in transactions, much of which was money laundering via scams that stealing billions and forced tens of thousands of people into prostitution and drug production.
