Huione Guarantee Shutdown Leads to 100% User Surge for Tudou Guarantee

The closure of the major crypto darknet marketplace Huione Guarantee has led to a significant shift in the landscape of illicit online marketplaces. Following the shutdown in May, users and merchants have migrated to at least 30 other platforms, with one marketplace, Tudou Guarantee, experiencing a notable surge in its user base.

Huione Guarantee's shutdown was precipitated by the banning of thousands of its associated accounts and channels by the Telegram messaging service. This action resulted in a power vacuum that several other Telegram-based marketplaces have quickly filled. Tudou Guarantee, in particular, has seen its user numbers more than double, with cryptocurrency inflows now matching those of Huione Guarantee prior to its closure.

Merchants who previously operated on Huione Guarantee have also transitioned to Tudou, offering a range of illicit services including stolen data, money laundering, and other fraudulent activities. This migration highlights the resilience and adaptability of the dark market ecosystem, which continues to thrive despite regulatory and enforcement efforts.

Elliptic, a blockchain analysis firm, has been tracking over 30 other Telegram-based dark markets that have seen an increase in users and volume following Huione Guarantee's shutdown. The closure of Huione Guarantee has created opportunities for these competitors to capture a significant portion of the market share left vacant by its demise.

Huione Group, the conglomerate behind Huione Guarantee, is also a major shareholder in Tudou, having acquired a 30% stake in the platform last December. This strategic investment suggests a continued involvement in the dark market ecosystem, despite the shutdown of Huione Guarantee.

Analysts at Chainalysis have reported that activity linked to Huione Guarantee has not declined but instead grown since the shutdown. However, Elliptic clarifies that this activity may be attributed to Huione Group's other businesses, such as Huione Pay, a large payments business with physical outlets across Cambodia that accepts crypto as a payment option.

Elliptic's analysis indicates that while Huione Guarantee continued to offer escrow services for private transactions following the shutdown, even those related to Tether (USDT) transactions have dropped to negligible levels by late May. This suggests that the platform's operations have effectively ceased, despite the continued activity reported by Chainalysis.

Elliptic emphasizes that the dark market ecosystem remains robust and continues to grow, despite the shutdown of major platforms like Huione Guarantee. The firm suggests that ongoing efforts to remove these marketplaces from Telegram and other platforms are necessary to curb the global scam epidemic.