Huione Guarantee’s Telegram Groups Hit Auction Block as Marketplace Shuts Down
Another crypto marketplace bites the dust—and it's selling off its digital Rolodex on the way out.
Huione Guarantee, once a hub for peer-to-peer deals, is now hawking its curated Telegram communities to the highest bidder. The move signals a full-scale retreat from its original marketplace model, leaving users scrambling and assets in limbo.
The Fire Sale
Think of it as a going-out-of-business sale for digital infrastructure. These aren't just random chat rooms; they're established groups with active traders, built-in trust networks, and transaction histories. For the right buyer, it's instant access to a captive audience. For everyone else, it's a stark reminder of how quickly crypto ventures can pivot—or collapse.
No data, no details, just the cold, hard exit. The platform isn't releasing user numbers or final transaction volumes. The silence speaks volumes.
The Aftermath
Where does this leave the community? Scattered, presumably. These groups often function as de facto customer service and dispute resolution channels. Their sale isn't just an asset liquidation; it's a handoff of user relationships, something that in traditional finance would trigger a regulatory avalanche. Here, it's just another Tuesday.
Active platforms absorb some users; others simply vanish into the ether. The cycle continues: build, hype, cash out, repeat. It's the venture capital playbook, just with more memes and less paperwork.
A cynical take? This is peak crypto-efficiency. Why build a community when you can buy one? Why nurture trust when you can monetize its carcass? Huione's exit strategy is a masterclass in extracting final value—proving once again that in this wild west, the most reliable product isn't a token or a platform. It's the exit itself.
Huione auctions off multiple channels
One of the last remaining public groups of Huione Group, @feibo, announced an auction for a series of channels. Participants must deposit 10,000 USDT, refundable after the end of the auction.
The sale also aims to prevent spam by holding off spoof bids and reserving the right not to return the deposit.
The most expensive group, with over 131K USDT in bids, is for gambling service ads. Other groups are just starting out or await to be repurposed.
USDT laundering risk is getting reorganized
After the takedown of the main activities of Huione Group, the threat of USDT laundering did not subside. Similar scams continue to operate, but spread to alternative P2P markets.
Liquidity is moving to new clusters, challenging researchers to locate addresses. Small shops and escrow services are one of the least traceable ways to transfer USDT. Even Tether itself and its financial crime unit have difficulties in tracing all transactions and wallets.
The activity of Huione Pay peaked in the summer of 2025, later stopping withdrawals and winding down following the crackdown from authorities. Huione Pay was one of the main tools for Telegram-based and online gambling, as well as USDT laundering.
After the shutdown of Huione Pay, up to 30 alternative entities emerged on Telegram, according to researchers from Eliptic.
Briefly, Tudou Guarantee was the selected marketplace for similar activities, but it also followed Huione in winding down its operations. Huione Guarantee also held a 30% stake in Tudou Guarantee, becoming the single biggest shareholder.
Currently, smaller dark markets are competing for a share of payments and potentially, laundering.
USDT marketplaces, using the TRON version of the stablecoin, have now been marked as a risk factor and are more closely watched for potential stablecoin laundering.
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