The closure of Haowang’s guarantee, once the largest online market illicit for crypto crooks, is far from being an end to cryptographic crime, according to a report published Monday by the Chainalysis blockchain analysis company.
Haowang, previously known as Huione Guaran, was a telegram -based market offering money laundering services, stolen data and scam technology without requiring identity verification.
His judgment followed a radical repression of Telegram after the Fincen of the US Treasury has identified the parent of Haowang, the Cambodian-based group, such as a silver laundering operation linked to North Korean cyber-actors.
The criminal ecosystem behind the “guarantee” services turns out to be resilient
Telegram also deleted the accounts connected to the Xinbi warranty, the second largest platform of its kind.
These actions have been praised as progress in the disruption of the scam networks which had taken root on the encrypted messaging platforms. But the analysis chain warned that victory is more symbolic than structural.
In his report, Chainsysis said that the criminal ecosystem around “guaranteed” services has proven to be very adaptable.
“These services are probably designed for redundancy, speaking to the resilience of criminals and the lucrative nature of their businesses,” noted the report.
The sellers who formerly operated on Haowang have already moved to new platforms or separated on several small markets.
The same users, according to the chainysis, quickly adapt to new brokers and communication channels, reducing the impact of isolated withdrawals.
“For the moment, the dismantling of the Huione group can change traffic, blurring relations with brokers or inspire short -term caution,” added Chainalysy, “but the structural catalysts of cryptographic crime remain unfortunately intact.”
Telegram continues to serve as a main basis for these illicit operations because of its ease of access and its pseudonym features.
Despite the promises of application, the platform has not revealed whether other repression would follow.
Chainalysis concluded that if platform cuts can titles, the lasting progress against cryptographic scams will depend on more advanced monitoring and focused on the behavior of blockchain transactions.
Rather than unraveling only the platforms, the company urges efforts to follow illicit funds thanks to models of movement on the chain, where real -time data can expose fraud even when the platforms become dark.
Crypto Crime becomes violent while illicit transactions exceed $ 40 billion in 2024
Illicit cryptocurrency activity increased to at least $ 40.9 billion in 2024, according to the analysis chain, the number likely to grow as portfolios linked to criminals are identified.
The hacks alone represented $ 2.2 billion in stolen assets, an increase of 21% compared to the previous year.
Groups linked to North Korea, including Lazarus and Tradetvoritor, were behind more than 60% of these flights, with major incidents such as the hacking of $ 300 million in Bitcoin DMM in Japan between their strokes.
But threats go beyond online exploits. Criminal groups use crypto to finance and hide a wider range of crimes – investment scams and improved Romanesque fraud in drug trafficking and even physical violence.
In an alarming case on May 13, 2025, the daughter and grandson of the CEO of Paymium were almost kidnapped in Paris by masked men.
Platforms like Huione Guaranto played a key role in laundering stolen funds, helping cybercriminals to convert digital benefits in real danger.
The post-chain analysis says that Haowang Shutdown fails to dismantle the cryptographic scam networks appeared first on Cryptonews.
