What is the biggest illicit online marketplace operating on Telegram?

Huione Guarantee is identified as the largest illicit online marketplace, having facilitated $27 billion in transactions on Telegram.

How much money do pig butchering scams generate annually?

Pig butchering scams are estimated to generate around $10 billion annually from U.S. victims alone.

Are dark web markets still the largest for illicit crypto transactions?

No, current analysis shows that messaging platforms like Telegram host larger illicit crypto markets than historical dark web sites.

Home / Crime and Justice / Telegram Becomes Crime Hub for $2B Monthly Scams

Telegram Becomes Crime Hub for $2B Monthly Scams

23 Dec

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Summary

Chinese-language crypto scam markets on Telegram facilitate $2 billion monthly.
Pig butchering scams now account for $10 billion annually from US victims.
One Telegram market, Huione Guarantee, facilitated $27 billion from 2021-2025.

Telegram Becomes Crime Hub for $2B Monthly Scams

Messaging platforms like Telegram have become the primary hubs for massive cryptocurrency-fueled black markets, eclipsing the dark web's prominence. Chinese-language markets on Telegram now facilitate nearly $2 billion in monthly illicit transactions, including sales of stolen data and scam tools.

The "pig butchering" romance and investment scams, largely operated from Southeast Asia, have emerged as the world's most lucrative cybercrime, earning an estimated $10 billion annually from U.S. victims alone. Markets like Tudou Guarantee and Xinbi Guarantee thrive by providing money-laundering services to these operations.

Historically, the dark web market AlphaBay facilitated over $1 billion, while Russia's Hydra market handled $5 billion. In stark contrast, Huione Guarantee, operating openly on Telegram, processed an astonishing $27 billion between 2021 and 2025, earning it the title of the largest illicit online marketplace ever recorded.