A Telegram-based escrow service linked to an illicit online marketplace appears to be winding down operations after refunding more than $130 million in stablecoins, a move that analysts say may disrupt a major hub for crypto-related scams.
Tudou Guarantee, a service linked to the Huione Group, has apparently refunded $130 million in Tether USDt (USDT) to the group’s public merchants since the beginning of 2026, according to data shared by blockchain analytics company Bitrace. Refunds began with about $3.7 million on Jan. 1 and peaked at about $18.1 million on Sunday, Bitrace said.
Earlier on Friday, the company seemingly announced the shuttering of operations through its Telegram channel, according to screenshots shared by Bitrace.
Huione Group is a Cambodia-based financial conglomerate that operates payment service Huione Pay and crypto exchange Huione Crypto, along with Huione Guarantee.
Source: BitraceRelated: Short squeeze hits top 500 cryptos as traders unwind bearish bets
Refunds signal potential scam slowdown
The development may lead to a slowdown in phishing and pig butchering scams, which were previously offered as a service by hundreds of vendors on the marketplace.
In December, an investor lost their entire Bitcoin (BTC) retirement fund in an artificial intelligence-fueled romance scam, where the con artists used prolonged emotional manipulation to convince the investors to transfer their funds.
Source: BitracePhishing scams became the second-largest threat after supply-chain breaches, costing crypto investors a cumulative $722 million across 248 incidents in 2025, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.
Related: Monero climbs to new high of $687 as crypto surveillance tightens
Elliptic uncovers $89 billion crypto, thousands of wallets tied to fraudster marketplace
Elliptic previously uncovered thousands of wallet addresses associated with Tudou Guarantee’s vendors and operations to help users steer clear of this entity.
The blockchain security company also flagged $89 billion in crypto received by these illicit wallets, according to a report published in January 2025.
Tudou Guarantee totaled at least $24 billion in transactions, increasingly relying on its cryptocurrency infrastructure.
Huione quarterly payments received. Source: EllipticIn September 2024, the marketplace launched a US dollar-based stablecoin as its latest crypto endeavour, after launching a blockchain, crypto exchange and messaging app.
Tudou Guarantee was rebranded from Huione Guarantee after Elliptic exposed it as a multi-billion-dollar marketplace for online fraudsters in July 2024.
Magazine: Getting scammed for 100 Bitcoin led Sunny Lu to create VeChain
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/huione-tudou-guarantee-shutdown-usdt-refunds?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
