$27B Telegram-based black market for crypto crime Haowang Guarantee shut down
Haowang Guarantee, a massive crypto-powered black market that moved over $27 billion in illicit funds, has been shut down following a Telegram crackdown triggered by new investigative findings.
As originally reported by WIRED, Haowang Guarantee, the internet’s largest crypto-fueled black market, has been abruptly shut down in a massive account purge by Telegram. The shutdown was announced in a short statement posted on Haowang’s website, citing that their “NFT, Channels and group” were blocked by the messaging platform on May 13.
The takedown appears to have been triggered by WIRED’s inquiry into Haowang, prompted by new findings from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, which also flagged a smaller,…
