Tudou Guarantee Doubles User Base After Huione Shutdown

The shutdown of Huione Guarantee, a prominent crypto-enabled darknet marketplace, has led to a significant migration of users and merchants to alternative platforms, particularly Tudou Guarantee. According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, the collapse of Huione Guarantee has resulted in a mass exodus to at least 30 other Telegram-based platforms. Tudou Guarantee has emerged as the primary beneficiary, doubling its user base and handling crypto volumes comparable to Huione’s peak activity before its May shutdown.

The shutdown of Huione Guarantee was precipitated by Telegram's decision to ban thousands of accounts and channels associated with the marketplace. This action forced users, many of whom were involved in trading stolen data, illicit goods, and money laundering services, to seek out new venues. Elliptic identified Tudou Guarantee as the "primary winner" of this migration, noting that it absorbed a significant portion of Huione’s former traffic and transaction flow.

The migration was not limited to users; merchants also moved en masse to Tudou Guarantee, where they resumed offering scam-enabling services. Many of these sellers quickly reestablished their operations and continued their pre-existing criminal schemes under the new platform. Tudou Guarantee was well-positioned to inherit Huione’s user base due to its platform capabilities and Huione Guarantee’s prior investment—a 30% stake acquired in December last year.

In addition to Tudou Guarantee, over 30 Telegram-based markets have seen notable growth in user activity since May. This suggests that the ecosystem remains resilient despite law enforcement and platform crackdowns. Elliptic stated that the closure of Huione Guarantee has created an opportunity for many of these competitors to fill the gap.

Elliptic’s analysis confirmed that Huione Guarantee’s transaction activity, particularly those involving Tether, fell to negligible levels by the end of May, indicating that the platform is effectively defunct. Although some analysts had earlier suggested that Huione-related activity had not diminished post-shutdown, Elliptic clarified that this may stem from confusion between Huione Guarantee and other subsidiaries of the Huione Group, particularly Huione Pay—a regulated payment service with physical branches in Cambodia, also linked to laundering crypto from online scams.

Despite the takedown of Huione Guarantee sending "shockwaves through the guarantee market ecosystem," Elliptic warned that the dark market landscape continues to evolve. The firm stressed that broader, coordinated action across platforms like Telegram is essential to curb the growing influence of these illicit marketplaces.