Telegram Scam Markets Eclipse the Dark Web in Scale and Sophistication

Telegram-based illicit markets have overtaken the traditional dark web, creating the largest and most efficient criminal finance ecosystem ever observed. These platforms seamlessly combine crypto scams, AI-driven deception, and large-scale money laundering into an industrialized system that operates openly on a mainstream messaging app.

Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reports that Huione Guarantee, later renamed Haowang Guarantee, processed an estimated $27 billion in transactions between 2021 and 2025. This single Telegram market exceeded the lifetime volume of every major dark web marketplace in history. After Telegram banned Huione in May, the activity did not disappear. Instead, it rapidly shifted to new platforms. Tudou Guarantee now processes roughly $1.1 billion per month, while Xinbi Guarantee handles about $850 million monthly. Together, their combined volume surpasses what AlphaBay, once the largest darknet market, processed across its entire existence.

Telegram has effectively replaced the dark web because it removes friction. Users no longer need Tor browsers or technical expertise. Public channels, built-in messaging, and instant global reach make access easy. These markets replicate classic darknet features such as vendor reputation systems, escrow-style dispute resolution, stablecoin payments, and rapid rebranding after bans. In practice, Telegram has become a “dark web without barriers.”

Unlike older darknet markets focused on drugs or weapons, Telegram markets primarily sell scam infrastructure. Their main customers are operators of pig-butchering scams, long-term romance and investment fraud schemes that generate an estimated $10 billion annually from U.S. victims alone. Many operations are concentrated in Southeast Asia and rely on trafficked labor forced to work in scam compounds.

Artificial intelligence has dramatically accelerated this ecosystem. Telegram groups openly sell real-time face-swap software, voice-cloning tools, and deepfake identity kits, enabling scammers to impersonate real people during video calls and significantly increase success rates. This has turned social engineering into an assembly-line process.

Nearly all transactions are settled in USDT, making Tether the financial backbone of this illicit economy. Despite its ability to freeze funds, enforcement remains limited. Today, Elliptic tracks around 30 major Chinese-language Telegram markets moving tens of billions of dollars annually. Without coordinated action from platforms, stablecoin issuers, and law enforcement, this rapidly expanding system will continue to grow in plain sight.