Huione, the alleged operator of one of the largest illicit online marketplaces, has launched a stablecoin and chat service. This is the latest step the organization is taking to set up alternative payments and communications systems, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
The move appears to be part of a strategy to protect the firm’s finances from asset seizures and make it less vulnerable to law enforcement and regulators. According to Elliptic, Huione has said the stablecoin, USDH, “avoids the common freezing and transfer restrictions of traditional digital currencies” and “is not restricted by traditional regulatory agencies.”
USDH, which runs on Ethereum, BSC and Tron, is part of a whole ecosystem of Huione-branded blockchain infrastructure, including a decentralized exchange, native crypto wallet and blockchain called Huione Chain (a.k.a. Xone). The firm has also allegedly attempted to raise funds via an initial coin offering.
Elliptic has been tracking transaction flows from the Huione Guarantee marketplace since at least July 2024 and has found evidence suggesting the multi-billion dollar Telegram-based platform is connected to the Huione Group conglomerate, which has ties to Cambodia’s ruling Hun family.
Huione Group has allegedly taken steps to distance itself from Huione Guarantee, which has since rebranded to Haowang Guarantee. (Elliptic refers to the platform under its original name for “consistency” in its reporting. The analytics firm also claims Huione Group previously referred to the marketplace as a “subsidiary.”)
Onchain analytics shows Huione Guarantee has facilitated at least $24 billion worth of crypto transactions and billions worth of bets via a gambling app, making it the largest known clearnet site for criminal exchanges. Thousands of vendors list everything from ransomware kits to shock collars on the platform, which is essentially a series of Telegram chatrooms and bots.
Not all transactions on the “neutral” platform are definitively connected to crime.
“The marketplace had previously stated that it took no responsibility for exactly what was being bought and sold on its platform,” Elliptic said. “However, following the publication of our research, Huione Guarantee stated that certain types of commerce are prohibited, including anything related to “human trafficking”, ‘firearms’ and ‘terrorism.’
In July, Elliptic published research linking Huione to a number of “pig butchering” operations. Pig butchering refers to a series of increasingly popular and increasingly industrialized investment scams where victims send money to perpetrators they are groomed to trust.
The phrase refers to victims being “fattened up,” and the perpetrators are often themselves victims of human trafficking by overseas Chinese criminal gangs operating in Southeast Asia.
Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin used “extensively” across Huione, has frozen at least one account associated with the marketplace. Tether previously said it assisted the U.S. Department of Justice in freezing $225 million worth of USDT linked to an international human trafficking group.
In addition to launching a stablecoin, Huione Group has also launched ChatMe, a messaging app replicating many of Telegram's features.
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