Chinese Groups Have Transformed Telegram into the Dark Web of Crypto Scams

Chinese-language networks on Telegram have evolved into the backbone of the world's largest illicit crypto economy, integrating scams, AI deception, and money laundering into an industrial system that now dwarfs historical dark web giants. One former market, Huione Guarantee, processed $27 billion between 2021 and 2025, exceeding the volume of every major dark web market combined. Telegram replaced the dark web because it offers public channels, global reach, and easy-to-use features like vendor reputation and escrow systems, effectively creating a "dark web without friction."

These markets primarily sell scam infrastructure, fueling the multi-billion dollar 'pig-butchering' romance and investment scam industry, often run from Southeast Asian compounds. The efficiency of these operations is further amplified by AI tools sold on these groups, including real-time face-swapping and voice-cloning software, which industrialize social engineering. Nearly all transactions settle in Tether (USDT), making the centralized stablecoin the financial backbone of this massive, yet publicly accessible, criminal ecosystem.

(Source：BeInCrypto)