Telegram and USDT Became the Foundation of a $442 Billion Fraud Economy — Report

• Elliptic believes that Telegram and the $USDT stablecoin issued by Tether have become key infrastructure components of global online fraud networks.
• According to the company, total losses from such schemes are expected to reach $442 billion by 2025.
• The largest Telegram-based platforms reportedly rely on $USDT on the TRON network for settlements and money laundering operations.

Fraud Networks Expanded Rapidly After COVID-19

Elliptic Chief Scientist Tom Robinson stated that Telegram and $USDT now form the backbone of global online fraud infrastructure.

The schemes include:

• pig-butchering scams;
• sextortion;
• fake investment platforms;
• personal data trafficking.

$USDT transaction flows through the largest escrow-based underground marketplaces. Source: Elliptic.

Robinson said the scale of the industry accelerated dramatically after the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to him, criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia began converting empty hotels and resorts into large-scale cyberfraud compounds.

Elliptic Warns of a Humanitarian Crisis

The company also described the situation as a humanitarian crisis.

Elliptic estimates that approximately 300,000 people are being held in such compounds against their will.

Many are allegedly forced to participate in fraudulent operations under threats of violence and torture.

Telegram Marketplaces Became Core Fraud Infrastructure

According to Robinson, so-called escrow marketplaces operating via Telegram play a critical role in the fraud economy.

These platforms allow thousands of vendors to offer tools for illegal operations.

Services reportedly include:

• personal data databases;
• SIM cards;
• fake investment websites;
• money-laundering services;
• other criminal infrastructure.

Such platforms function as intermediaries between sellers and buyers, holding escrow deposits to resolve disputes.

Elliptic claims that most payments are conducted using $USDT on the TRON network.

Robinson emphasised that stablecoins allow criminals to bypass some traditional banking anti-money-laundering controls.

Largest Illegal Platforms Identified

Elliptic identified Huione Guarantee — later renamed Haowang Guarantee — as the largest such platform.

According to the company, the marketplace has facilitated at least $31 billion in transactions since 2021.

That would make it the largest online illicit payments marketplace in history.

For comparison:

• Silk Road’s transaction volume was estimated at roughly $216 million;
• Alphabay processed around $1 billion.

Elliptic also reported that the affiliated Huione Pay service processed more than $103 billion worth of $USDT transactions.

Breakdown of money-laundering services on the Xinbi Guarantee platform by operation type. Source: Elliptic.

Following law-enforcement pressure and sanctions, some platforms were shut down.

However, Robinson said new services rapidly emerged to replace them, including Xinbi Guarantee.

In March, UK authorities imposed sanctions on Xinbi, accusing the platform of facilitating fraud compounds in Southeast Asia and contributing to human-rights abuses.

Elliptic Calls for Greater Pressure on Telegram and Tether

Robinson argued that targeting individual marketplaces alone will not solve the problem systemically.

In his view, international regulators should increase pressure on technology platforms and stablecoin issuers.

Elliptic specifically urged:

• Telegram to more aggressively remove fraudulent marketplaces;
• Tether to identify and freeze wallets connected to illegal activity.

The analyst also warned that infrastructure initially created for online fraud is gradually becoming integrated into broader global financial-crime networks.

According to Elliptic, these systems are already being used for:

• laundering funds linked to North Korean crypto hacks;
• sanctions evasion;
• other transnational crimes.

Earlier reports stated that the United States and its international partners dismantled nine fraud centres and arrested more than 270 individuals.

See also: "BNB Chain Sacrificed Speed for Quantum Resistance"

#USDT #Telegram #crypto theft

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