The U.S. Department of Justice has restrained roughly $52.8 million in cryptocurrency linked to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language illicit marketplace that allegedly provided infrastructure, money laundering and other services to scam operations.
The action came alongside the seizure of Xinbi’s Telegram infrastructure and new U.S. Treasury sanctions. Blockchain intelligence firm Elliptic said its multi-year tracking of Xinbi’s wallets helped the U.S. Secret Service identify and freeze the funds.
The crackdown also highlights a growing weakness for illicit crypto marketplaces: while stablecoins can move quickly across borders, blockchain transactions leave a permanent trail that investigators can follow.
