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- Crypto crime has shifted from hidden dark web markets to open messaging platforms.
- Chinese-speaking scam hubs on Telegram now move billions each month.
- These markets have surpassed every past illicit online marketplace in scale.
According to the report, when black markets for drugs, weapons, and stolen data first appeared on the dark web more than ten years ago, many believed they marked a new age of digital crime. Cryptocurrency-powered payments. Tor hid identities. The criminal trade seemed unreachable to law enforcement. That model now looks outdated.
In 2025, major crypto crime no longer relies on complex anonymity tools. Criminal groups use popular messaging platforms. They rebuild channels after bans. They communicate mainly in Chinese. This shift has enabled black market activity to expand more rapidly and reach a broader audience than ever before.
A new analysis from blockchain tracing firm Elliptic shows how far this system has expanded. Chinese language marketplaces operating openly on Telegram now dominate the global crypto crime economy. Even after platform bans earlier this year, activity quickly returned at a massive scale.
Telegram Becomes Hub for Billion-Dollar Crypto Scams
Telegram has become the central hub for these operations. It hosts large markets that offer scam infrastructure, money laundering services, and stolen digital assets. Vendors sell fake investment websites. They sell databases of victims. They sell deepfake tools powered by artificial intelligence.
Two platforms now lead this space. Tudou Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee together process close to two billion dollars each month. That figure covers laundering services and a wide range of illegal goods. The markets also advertise extreme criminal services, including human exploitation.
These platforms survive through persistence. When moderators remove channels, operators reopen them. They reuse networks. They rebuild trust with escrow systems. The markets function in full view rather than hiding behind encrypted browsers.
The rise of these markets links directly to large-scale scam operations in Southeast Asia. Criminal groups run compounds across the region. Traffickers force thousands of victims to work inside them. The workers run online investment scams and romance fraud schemes.
Crypto Crime Hits Record Scale with Telegram Platforms
These scams now rank as the most profitable form of cybercrime worldwide. United States victims alone lose around ten billion dollars each year, based on federal estimates. The Telegram markets support this system by selling tools and laundering profits.
Earlier dark web markets once seemed enormous. AlphaBay processed over one billion dollars before its shutdown. Hydra handled about five billion dollars over several years. At the time, those numbers shocked investigators.
The new generation dwarfs them. One Chinese language market alone facilitated twenty-seven billion dollars in transactions between 2021 and 2025. It operated openly on Telegram throughout that period. No prior online black market reached that scale.
Crypto crime has not disappeared. It has evolved. Visibility has replaced secrecy. Size has replaced caution. The result marks the largest illicit marketplace era the internet has ever seen.
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