The collapse of Huione Guarantee, once a dominant crypto-enabled darknet marketplace, has triggered a mass exodus of users and merchants to at least 30 alternative Telegram-based platforms, according to a new report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic. Chief among the beneficiaries is Tudou Guarantee, which has rapidly doubled its user base and now handles crypto volumes comparable to Huione’s peak activity before its May shutdown. Huione Guarantee was forced offline after Telegram banned thousands of accounts and channels associated with the marketplace. In the aftermath, users—many of whom traded stolen data, illicit goods, and offered money laundering services—quickly sought out replacement venues. Elliptic identified Tudou as the “primary winner” of this migration, noting that it absorbed a significant portion of Huione’s former traffic and transaction flow. Merchants Follow Users to New Platforms It wasn’t just users who jumped ship. According to Elliptic, former Huione merchants also migrated en masse to Tudou, where they resumed offering scam-enabling services. Many of these sellers were quick to reestablish operations and continue pre-existing criminal schemes under the new banner. Tudou was well-positioned to inherit Huione’s user base, not only because of its platform capabilities but also due to Huione Guarantee’s prior investment—a 30% stake acquired in December last year. In addition to Tudou, over 30 Telegram-based markets have seen notable growth in user activity since May, suggesting that the ecosystem remains resilient despite law enforcement and platform crackdowns. “The closure of Huione Guarantee has created an opportunity for many of these competitors to fill the gap,” Elliptic stated. Elliptic Confirms Huione’s Crypto Activity Has Collapsed While some analysts from Chainalysis had earlier suggested that Huione-related activity had not diminished post-shutdown, Elliptic clarified that this may stem from confusion between Huione Guarantee and other subsidiaries of the Huione Group, particularly Huione Pay—a regulated payment service with physical branches in Cambodia, also linked to laundering crypto from online scams . Elliptic’s granular blockchain analysis revealed that Huione Guarantee’s transaction activity—particularly those involving Tether—fell to negligible levels by the end of May, confirming the platform is effectively defunct. “Although Huione Pay continues to transact high volumes, Huione Guarantee’s transactions have effectively ceased,” the report noted. Despite the takedown of Huione Guarantee sending “shockwaves through the guarantee market ecosystem,” Elliptic warned that the dark market landscape continues to evolve . The firm stressed that broader, coordinated action across platforms like Telegram is essential to curb the growing influence of these illicit marketplaces. The post Elliptic: Tudou Guarantee Surges as Huione Shutdown Sparks Dark Market Migration appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
