Despite being shut down on their official website and Telegram channels, it appears that the significant darknet marketplace known as Huione continues to function and expand in secret.
On May 13th, Haowang Assurance (previously known as Huione Assurance) announced their closure following the ban of numerous associated accounts and channels by the popular messaging platform, Telegram.
Contrary to expectations following the supposed shutdown, Chainalysis noted in their recent report that the related activity in the black market has not decreased.
As a crypto investor, I’ve noticed that our platform consistently handles transactions valued in the billions, indicating a robust and self-reliant system. This system seems to function primarily on its own, separate from its external infrastructure.
Darknet marketplace operators Huione Group still thriving
The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) suggested on May 1 that they would prevent Huione Group from utilizing the American banking network, alleging that the company assisted North Korea’s government-backed Lazarus Group in laundering cryptocurrency.
According to Chainalysis, US banks tend to swiftly cut off ties when faced with an announcement to minimize regulatory risks. On the other hand, Huione has shown remarkable resistance towards regulatory action.
According to Chainalysis, the “de-risking effect” implies that Huione probably no longer had access to U.S. dollars starting from the date of the notice. However, the transactional data indicates a relatively small impact on their day-to-day operations.
The data reveals that unlike what might have been expected after the FinCEN announcement, the transaction volume didn’t decrease; instead, it went up.
According to a report by TRM Labs on May 30, it was found that Huione Group continues to manage channels for its premium suppliers, and has taken in more than $81 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2021. This figure exceeds the amount transacted through the Hydra marketplace.
Furthermore, it’s important to note that Huione serves as a primary hub for various types of online criminal activities, such as swindling schemes like “pig butchering,” financial fraud, and cyber thefts.
According to Chainalysis, Huione’s digital currency trading platform is back in action, featuring its original logo but under a fresh web address.
On various platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram, the exchange keeps its social media presence lively.
The Huione Group, a prominent business conglomerate from Cambodia, manages an assortment of companies. Among these are Huione Pay PLC, a payment service platform, Huione Crypto, a cryptocurrency exchange, and Haowang Guarantee.
Law enforcement needs a new approach
According to Chainalysis, the ongoing activities of the Huione Group and its affiliates highlight a significant issue in combating complex, elusive criminal organizations that manage to bypass law enforcement agencies on a large scale.
To effectively combat illicit companies like Huion, it’s crucial to implement a long-term approach involving various tactics, as suggested by Chainalysis. This approach is often referred to as an “ecosystem-wide response.
To effectively tackle these systems, it might be necessary to devise new methods of regulation that delve deeper than just removing their visible components and instead target the intricate system structure sustaining them,” as suggested by Chainalysis.
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2025-06-13 09:56