Telegram Bans Xinbi Guarantee Channels as US Freezes $52.8 Million in Crypto

Telegram took strong action against Xinbi Guarantee this week. The move followed a joint U.S. crackdown on the Chinese language marketplace.

Investigators say Xinbi helped scammers launder money and buy stolen data. Now, the group’s main channels and top usernames are gone from the app.

Wallets and Chat Channels Go Dark

Blockchain firm Elliptic worked with the U.S. Secret Service on the case. The firm says Xinbi went offline on September 9. Telegram removed the marketplace’s central channels that day. It also banned many usernames tied to the group. The Record confirms that Xinbi’s main channel disappeared around the same time. Several linked usernames also stopped working.

The U.S. Department of Justice says a federal court approved the seizure of those Telegram channels. Agents also grabbed two crypto wallets that Xinbi used to collect payments from vendors. Those wallets held roughly $12 million.

The investigation did not stop there. Officials asked courts to freeze 47 more wallets. They say these wallets link to Xinbi’s money laundering work and its network of vendors. In total, authorities restrained over $52 million in crypto tied to the group.

Elliptic puts the full figure at $52.8 million in frozen crypto assets. The firm calls Xinbi one of the largest illegal online marketplaces ever found. It reportedly handled at least $24 billion in trades since it started around 2022.

Xinbi allegedly connected scam operators with vendors. Those vendors sold stolen personal data, fake ID documents, and fraud investment tools. Some also offered crypto services and money laundering help.

Rare Usernames Caught in the Sweep

The crackdown did not stop at money and chat groups. It reached valuable Telegram usernames too.

A post from Dark Web Intelligence on X named several affected usernames. These included short handles like @aaaa, @bbbb, @zzzz, @oooo, and @gqdh. The post noted that these pages now show a message saying Telegram has banned them. Some of these names were rare four-letter handles. They were once tied to the TON and Fragment marketplace, where usernames sell for real money.

The Justice Department has not named these specific usernames in its own statement. Still, the wider claim holds up. Both Elliptic and The Record confirm that Telegram banned accounts linked to Xinbi. Blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs also reports that Telegram officially banned Xinbi on September 9.

This part of the story matters for a simple reason. Short Telegram usernames can carry real cash value on resale markets. People buy and sell them like rare collectibles. Losing these handles hits Xinbi’s operators in a way that goes beyond just losing chat access. It shows that platform bans can hurt criminal groups financially, not just cut off their communication.

A Wider Push to Break Scam Networks

The Xinbi case fits a bigger pattern in fighting online crime. Instead of chasing single criminals, agencies are now targeting entire support systems.

In this operation, officials hit several layers at once. They froze crypto wallets. They also seized chat channels. They disrupted marketplace tools and vendor networks. According to CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury also labeled Xinbi Guarantee a Transnational Criminal Organization. That label blocks the group from using the U.S. financial system in almost any way.

This kind of joint strike sends a clear message. Scam networks depend on many moving parts working together. These parts include money laundering routes, stolen data sellers, fake websites, and chat platforms. When agencies attack all these parts at the same time, they can weaken a whole criminal system in one move. BeInCrypto and The Hacker News both covered the case as part of this wider trend against illicit online marketplaces.

Law enforcement agencies are also targeting individual dark web users. In a separate case, Florida police arrested a teenager who allegedly used dark web tools to access child sexual abuse material. The investigation shows that authorities are pursuing both criminal platform operators and users who engage in illegal activity, including those who exploit anonymity tools, encrypted messaging, and cryptocurrency.

For groups that lean on apps like Telegram and crypto to run their business, the Xinbi case sends a warning. Digital tools once seen as hard to touch can now become major law enforcement targets. Platforms and coins that scammers trust the most may not stay safe for long.