The addition of an internal communication service known as “ChatMe”, a cryptocurrency exchange (Huione Crypto), and a US dollar-backed stablecoin (“USDH”) suggests that Huione guarantees a truly full-service, self-sustaining platform. trying to be . The website for USDH describes it as “not restricted” by regulators around the world and says it “avoid[s]the usual freezing and transfer restrictions” that apply to other cryptocurrencies, Elliptical researchers say. can
In its work last year, Elliptical found that in the first three years of its operation, Huon guaranteed sellers Moved around 11 billion dollars on the platform. Less than a year later, researchers now estimate the total to be $24 billion. The platform’s various extensions are all contributing to growth, but ultimately its escrow and transfer services are the core service.
“With Huion Guarantee, the main thing being sold is actually laundering the proceeds of online scams,” Robinson alleged. “Many of the funds passing through the marketplace are related to vendors who are openly offering money laundering services that speak to the types of fraud they are willing to accept.”
Meanwhile, as the business booms, the researchers say the platform’s owner, Huion Group, has worked to reduce its relationship with the marketplace and minimize the connection between Huione Guarantee and other linked services, such as Huione Pay. have worked for The marketplace has also been rebranded as “Haowang Guarantee”, although Huon Group confirmed to researchers that Huon Guarantee is still a “strategic partner and shareholder”.
“The Huione Guaranty Group is widely used on Telegram with over 139,000 users,” said Jason Tower, Myanmar Country Director of the United States Institute of Peace. is done to send By comparison, competing platforms have lost a lot of users. This is the result of probability The crackdown by the Chinese government.”
Robinson says a preliminary analysis by Ellipse found about $6 billion passing through a Telegram bot allegedly “used primarily for online gambling on the Huione guarantee.” The researchers’ analysis suggests that it may also be linked to alleged money laundering. Users deposit crypto into a wallet and can then send their balances to individual minigames within their own Telegram groups. The “games” are very basic, however, and do not involve any skill. Players also bet consistently over a very long period of time, bet the same amount, and leave precise intervals between their bets. All this, Robinson alleges, “suggests automated gambling for money laundering purposes rather than collective entertainment.”
Despite Huon Guarantee’s apparent too-big-to-fail strategy, Elliptical researchers say the platform is far from completely self-sustaining. So far, Huon’s stablecoins and cryptocurrency exchanges have failed to register a significant volume of transactions, Robinson says, despite some advances in its existing communication channels. As the marketplace works to push the transition, its ongoing reliance on third parties may still be a weakness — at least for now.
“The HUION guarantee is still dependent on some centralized infrastructure, Tether and Telegram,” says Robinson. “I think there’s an opportunity now for those service providers to push it. I think if we wait too long Yes, then there is a chance that they will move into their infrastructure and it will become more challenging.
