Illicit $8B crypto market Xinbi incorporated in Colorado: Elliptic
A Colorado-incorporated firm, Xinbi Guarantee, is linked to a Chinese illicit marketplace facilitating scams in Southeast Asia, channeling $8.4 billion in crypto, primarily Tether (USDT). The marketplace operates on Telegram, offering services like money laundering, technology for scammers, stolen personal data, and fake IDs. Xinbi claims to be an investment group but was marked as 'Delinquent' in January 2025 for failing to file reports. It is the second-largest illicit marketplace, with over $1 billion transacted in Q4 2024 and connections to North Korean hackers. Elliptic identified thousands of crypto addresses related to Xinbi, suggesting the reported transaction volume is likely underestimated. The platform has 233,000 users and employs a guarantee model to prevent fraud. Elliptic previously reported on Huione Guarantee, another similar marketplace that facilitated over $98 billion in transactions and was designated a money-laundering operation by the US Treasury. These platforms highlight a significant underground banking system in China leveraging stablecoins for money laundering.
