Huione’s ‘Shutdown’ Fails to Halt Its Laundering Network

Huione’s website and Telegram channels going dark earlier this year appeared to mark the end of one of the most prominent Chinese-language laundering marketplaces, but new data suggests the shutdown was more cosmetic than operational.

Transaction volumes associated with Huione have increased – not declined – since its announced closure, said blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The analysis points to Huione’s ongoing function as “an embedded network of laundering pipelines, only partially dependent on visible infrastructure.”

The service, also branded as Haowang and reportedly based in Cambodia, operates within a broader network of guarantee services, which are intermediaries that offer escrow-style arrangements to facilitate illicit money transfers between criminal parties. These networks are known for avoiding regulated platforms and conducting transactions through off-chain coordination and encrypted messaging.

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed on May 1 designating Huione as a “primary money laundering concern.” The designation, if finalized, would formally isolate Huione from the U.S. financial system. While finalization is pending, Chainalysis said that banks often respond to such proposals by preemptively cutting off access to dollar-based infrastructure, a process known as “de-risking.”

Huione announced its closure on May 13 following a crackdown by Telegram on the outfit’s accounts. “Since all our NFTs, channels and groups were blocked by Telegram on May 13, 2025, Haowang Guarantee will cease operations from now on. Thank you for your attention,” a message on the Huione website reads.

Chainalysis said transactional data shows “minimal operational impact.” Rather than falling off, transaction volume tied to Huione has risen, a sign of “operational resilience” and the durability of Huione laundering infrastructure.

Huione’s public-facing services are dismantled but appear to have reemerged in an altered form. Its crypto exchange has resurfaced under a new domain called Huione.me, retaining the same branding. Activity on social media channels associated with the exchange also continues, including on Telegram, where Chainalysis reports that user interactions are active.

The platform still lists two Huione-linked digital assets: the XOC token and a stablecoin called USDH. Chainalysis also documented laundering methods associated with Huione and similar services. These include fund transfers to prepaid cards, in-person cash pickups coordinated via encrypted messaging and fiat-to-stablecoin conversions often conducted by unregistered intermediaries. One translated marketing caption from the platform’s listings read: “Always insist on delivering cash in person, never intermediary … clean funds first, transaction safety first.”

The platform’s services often include coded disclaimers and signals that suggest awareness of law enforcement risk, including restrictions on certain client types and the use of obfuscated payment paths.

Huione’s activity continues to eclipse others in the same ecosystem. A Telegram-based service called Tudou Danbao, which Chainalysis reports is partially owned by Huione, experienced nearly 3,000% growth in users month-over-month. But the firm said Tudou Danbao’s absolute volumes are small compared to Huione’s. “This supports the theory that rather than users migrating to other services, new money may be entering the ecosystem altogether,” Chainalysis wrote.

Chainalysis argues that Huione’s persistence demonstrated the structural challenge of disrupting complex laundering systems. “The question now isn’t whether Huione is still operational – it clearly is – but rather, what kinds of interventions can meaningfully disrupt it.”

Chainalysis called for an “ecosystem-wide response,” involving cross-border coordination, real-time data sharing and integration of blockchain intelligence into enforcement strategies. FinCEN’s move signals growing attention by authorities to crypto-based laundering, but removing surface infrastructure is rarely enough.

“The data shows one unavoidable truth: Huione’s ‘shutdown’ did not slow it down,” the firm said.