TLDR
US authorities have frozen and seized over $52 million in crypto tied to Xinbi Guarantee, a major scam-linked marketplace using stablecoins and Telegram infrastructure.
- The DOJ, Secret Service, and Treasury seized about $12 million from two Xinbi wallets and restrained more than $52 million across over 50 wallets while taking down its Telegram channels.
- Xinbi is a Chinese-language escrow marketplace that processed at least $24 billion for money launderers, scam compounds, and North Korean-linked hackers, mainly via Tether (USDT) on Tron.
- The case shows how centralized stablecoins can be frozen on-chain and signals continuing crackdowns on similar laundering hubs and scam infrastructures worldwide.
Confidence: high because multiple official-aligned reports match on amounts, actions, and Xinbis role.
Deep Dive
1. What Authorities Actually Did
US agencies restrained over $52 million in cryptocurrency linked to Xinbi Guarantee and its vendor network, including seizing two wallets holding about $12 million and freezing 47 more wallets used for laundering and scam proceeds. This action targeted Xinbis financial rails and was led by the Department of Justices Scam Center Strike Force, with court orders from the US District Court for the District of Columbia to seize Xinbis Telegram channels hosting the marketplace over $52 million in cryptocurrency linked to Xinbi.
In parallel, Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned two support firms, SafeW Technology (Singapore) and Anwen Technology (Cambodia), which provided encrypted messaging and payment apps such as XinbiPay/NewPay designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization. A separate report notes the US Secret Service froze about $52.8 million in USDT across 52 wallets using analytics from Elliptic froze $52.8 million in USDT across 52 wallets.
2. Xinbis Role In Illicit Crypto
Xinbi Guarantee is a Chinese-language marketplace that ran primarily on Telegram and later on an encrypted SafeW app, acting as an escrow hub where vendors posted deposits and offered illicit services to scam operators. Those services included money laundering, building fake investment platforms, KYC bypass, selling stolen data, and recruiting workers for Southeast Asian scam compounds Xinbi enabled vendors to sell services such as building fake investment websites and laundering funds.
US Treasury and analytics firms estimate Xinbi processed at least $24 billion in crypto and fiat since around 2022, with some estimates of total volumes over $30 billion, making it one of the largest known guarantee markets Xinbi has processed over $24 billion in crypto and fiat. Chainalysis-linked reporting ties Xinbi to North Korean hackers who allegedly laundered tens of millions in stolen funds from major platform hacks, including Bybit and WazirX, through Xinbis vendors North Korean hackers laundered tens of millions through Xinbi.
3. Stablecoins, Freezes And What To Watch
Most of Xinbis flows reportedly ran through Tether (USDT) on the Tron blockchain via XinbiPay and related wallets, which is why freezing those addresses had such impact Xinbi Pay handled transactions mostly in Tether USDT on Tron. Tether cooperated with investigators and froze large Xinbi-linked balances, while the Secret Service and DOJ credited both Tether and analytics firms for enabling the operation Tether assisted in the investigation.
After the freeze, Xinbi tried to move about $2.8 million into USDD, a stablecoin without a built-in issuer freeze function, but USDDs reserves are partly backed by USDT, limiting its usefulness as an unseizable escape Xinbi began shifting funds from USDT to USDD. The Xinbi action is part of a broader Scam Center Strike Force effort that has now restrained close to $1 billion in scam-linked crypto and coincides with a new US-UK alliance targeting global scam centers.
Large centralized stablecoins like USDT can be powerful enforcement levers, which helps disrupt scam networks but also highlights that balances in such assets can be frozen when tied to suspected crime.
Conclusion
The Xinbi crackdown shows US authorities increasingly targeting the infrastructure that connects stolen or scammed crypto to cash-out networks, not just individual hackers. For crypto users, it underlines that stablecoins and messaging platforms are closely monitored and can be shut down when linked to large-scale fraud or laundering. Going forward, similar sanctions and wallet freezes against other guarantee markets and scam-compound ecosystems are likely as regulators tighten control around illicit use of digital assets.
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