Dark Webs Largest Illicit Marketplace Hits 24 Billion In Gray Market Transactions

A new report from the crypto-tracing firm Elliptic has shed light on the rapidly growing illicit online marketplace, Huione Guarantee. The platform, which initially emerged as investment scams, has expanded its services to include a messaging app, stablecoin, and cryptocurrency exchange, allowing it to scale up its operations and evade law enforcement.

The platform’s volume of activity has increased by 51 percent since last summer, with the platform now enabling $24 billion in gray market transactions. Huione Guarantee’s growth is attributed to its ability to provide a range of services to scammers, including deposit and escrow services, deepfake tools, and fake investment websites.

The platform’s centerpiece feature is a deposit and escrow service that connects buyers and sellers, facilitating their transactions. However, the service also acts as a general store that fulfills every scammer’s needs. Huione Guarantee mostly operates through the social media app Telegram, organized around groups and bots with tens of thousands of members and followers.

The platform’s growth has raised concerns among experts, who warn that it is enabling the industrialization of online scams. “What platforms really do is help scammers to scale up their operations,” says Tom Robinson, Elliptic’s cofounder and chief scientist. “Huione Guarantee is a key node in this network of facilitators of online scams. Preventing it from operating would have a significant impact on online scams and would have an immediate beneficial effect on victims and potential victims.”

The platform’s administration has claimed to be an “information publishing and guarantee trading platform,” with services provided by third-party merchants. However, Elliptic’s research suggests that the platform is more than just a simple marketplace. Instead, it is a complex network of facilitators who enable scammers to operate with relative impunity.

The growth of Huione Guarantee highlights the need for law enforcement agencies and regulators to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving landscape of online scams. As the platform continues to expand its services and evade detection, experts warn that it may be part of an effort to flood the zone and protect itself from potential law enforcement action or technological crackdowns.

In a world where scammers are increasingly using social media and cryptocurrency to facilitate their operations, platforms like Huione Guarantee pose a significant threat. As one expert noted, “The platform’s growth is a clear indication that online scams are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect.”