Xinbi Guarantee, in a surprising twist, turned out to be one of the world’s largest underground marketplaces for crypto crime—operating from within the United States. Officially registered in the state of Colorado, the company appeared to be a normal business on paper. But behind the scenes, it was running a billion-dollar black market—primarily in Chinese—through the messaging app Telegram.
Xinbi Guarantee acted like a middleman for criminals. It helped scammers who trick people into fake crypto investments. These scammers needed to turn their stolen digital money into real cash, and Xinbi Guarantee offered that service. They did this by running a special kind of online store on Telegram, where criminals could trade illegal services and move money around without getting caught—until now.
Elliptic, a crypto-tracing firm, reported that the company had moved over $8.4 billion since 2022. Most of this money likely came from innocent people who were scammed out of their savings. Although it targeted Chinese-speaking users, Xinbi Guarantee proudly displayed on its website that it was legally set up in Colorado, giving it a false sense of legitimacy.
Underground Market of Xinbi Guarantee
Xinbi Guarantee wasn’t just helping crypto scammers. It was also offering an entire menu of shady and illegal services. Some vendors on the platform even sold stolen personal data, SIM cards, and fake internet services. There were also shocking offers of sex work, including listings that mentioned very young girls, and even disturbing posts that involved acts of intimidation—like sending people to throw feces at someone’s house or posting insulting signs outside their home.
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The platform used a “guarantee” system to appear more trustworthy to criminals. Third-party sellers had to deposit money to offer their services. This made scammers feel more confident when using the platform, even though everything being traded was illegal.
One of the most alarming discoveries was that the platform was even used by North Korean hackers. Elliptic’s research showed that part of the money stolen from a large Indian crypto exchange ended up going through Xinbi Guarantee. These funds—over $220,000—were part of a massive theft and were hidden using this Telegram-based market.
Despite all of this, the company behind it appeared to be nothing more than a small business registered to an office building in Aurora, Colorado. It was filed in August 2022 by someone with a name linked to Malaysia, but the exact identity behind the business remains unclear. The company is now marked as “delinquent” for not keeping up with required paperwork.
Telegram and Tether Under Fire
Telegram, the messaging app where Xinbi Guarantee operated, had been slow to respond. But after researchers and reporters contacted them, the platform finally banned many of the main accounts linked to Xinbi Guarantee and a similar market called Huione Guarantee. Telegram stated that such illegal activities are not allowed and are removed once discovered.
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However, this isn’t the first time Telegram took action. A similar situation happened with Huione Guarantee, which had also created new accounts after being banned. These black markets are huge money-makers, and it’s unclear if shutting down accounts will stop them for good.
Both Xinbi and Huione use a type of digital money called Tether, a stablecoin that works like a regular dollar but is used online. Tether is more trackable than other cryptocurrencies, and the company behind it says they are working with law enforcement to stop criminal use. Still, criminals have used Tether for billions in illegal deals.
What’s even more shocking is how openly these markets operated. Listings for criminal services, scams, and worse were often available in plain sight. According to experts, Xinbi Guarantee was not hiding in the shadows—it was running one of the biggest crime operations online while being legally tied to the U.S.
Xinbi Guarantee’s channels on Telegram have now been removed, but the damage done is massive. Over $8 billion flowed through this black market, proving just how deep and dangerous the crypto crime world has become—all starting from a business address in Colorado.
