Illicit $8B crypto market Xinbi incorporated in Colorado: Elliptic

Xinbi Guarantee, a Telegram-based illicit marketplace, has facilitated over $8.4 billion in cryptocurrency transactions, primarily in Tether (USDT). This Chinese-language platform, operating under the guise of Xinbi Co. Ltd., a Colorado-incorporated company, provides a range of services to Southeast Asian scammers. These services include money laundering, the sale of technology (such as Starlink equipment), stolen personal data for targeting victims, and the creation of fraudulent documents.

Elliptic, a blockchain security firm, revealed these findings in a May 13th report. The report highlighted the marketplace’s rapid growth, with over $1 billion transacted in Q4 2024 alone. Furthermore, evidence links Xinbi to North Korean hackers laundering stolen funds. The platform boasts approximately 233,000 users and operates on a “guarantee model,” requiring vendors to deposit funds to mitigate fraud. Elliptic estimates the $8.4 billion figure to be a conservative estimate of the actual transaction volume.

Xinbi Guarantee is the second-largest illicit online marketplace discovered to date, second only to Huione Guarantee. Huione, which facilitated over $98 billion in crypto transactions, was designated by the US Treasury as a money-laundering operation in early May 2025 and subsequently severed from the US banking system.

Both Xinbi and Huione offer a glimpse into a significant China-based underground banking system, heavily reliant on stablecoins and other digital payments for large-scale money laundering. Xinbi Co. Ltd.’s incorporation in Colorado, despite its delinquent status as of January 2025 due to failure to file a periodic report, raises concerns about the oversight of such entities. The scale of these operations underscores the urgent need for enhanced international cooperation to combat illicit financial activities in the cryptocurrency space. The ease with which these marketplaces operate highlights the vulnerabilities of the current regulatory frameworks. The significant sums involved emphasize the potential threat these platforms pose to global financial stability and security.