The U.S. Secret Service has frozen $52.8 million in cryptocurrency linked to Xinbi Guarantee, a sprawling Telegram-based marketplace that authorities say facilitated billions of dollars in fraud, money laundering, and other illicit transactions across the globe.
A Massive Illicit Marketplace Unmasked
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic played a central role in tracing the funds, mapping the flow of digital assets that passed through Xinbi's operations. According to investigators, the marketplace processed a staggering $24 billion in transactions during its lifetime, positioning it as one of the largest hubs for criminal activity ever uncovered on the messaging platform Telegram.
Xinbi Guarantee functioned as a so-called guarantee marketplace, connecting buyers and sellers engaged in a range of illegal services. These platforms typically act as escrow-style intermediaries, lending a veneer of trust to transactions involving stolen data, laundering services, and scam infrastructure used to defraud victims worldwide.
A single Telegram bazaar moved $24 billion—an amount rivaling the economies of small nations—while fueling scams around the world.
Sanctions and a Coordinated Crackdown
The U.S. Treasury Department moved to sanction the marketplace, adding it to the list of entities barred from the American financial system. The action reflects a broader push by U.S. agencies to disrupt the digital infrastructure that underpins global fraud networks, particularly those operating through encrypted messaging apps.
The freeze of $52.8 million represents a concrete blow to the operation, cutting off access to funds that authorities allege were tied to criminal proceeds. Coordinated efforts between the Secret Service, the Treasury, and private blockchain intelligence firms have become an increasingly common template for targeting crypto-enabled crime.
Key elements of the enforcement action include:
- Elliptic's blockchain tracing that identified the tainted funds
- Treasury sanctions cutting Xinbi off from the U.S. financial system
- The Secret Service seizure totaling $52.8 million in crypto
Xinbi Pushes Back
Despite the mounting evidence and coordinated response, Xinbi has publicly disputed the action, characterizing the freeze as unfair. The pushback underscores the challenges regulators face when confronting decentralized and often anonym