Crypto: Huione-linked Tudou Guarantee Winds Down Amid $130m Usdt Refunds:...

The apparent shutdown follows years of scrutiny of one of crypto’s largest fraud marketplaces.

A Telegram-based escrow service linked to an illicit online marketplace appears to be winding down operations after refunding more than $130 million in stablecoins, a move that analysts say may disrupt a major hub for crypto-related scams.

Tudou Guarantee, a service linked to the Huione Group, has apparently refunded $130 million in Tether USDt (USDT) to the group’s public merchants since the beginning of 2026, according to data shared by blockchain analytics company Bitrace. Refunds began with about $3.7 million on Jan. 1 and peaked at about $18.1 million on Sunday, Bitrace said.

Earlier on Friday, the company seemingly announced the shuttering of operations through its Telegram channel, according to screenshots shared by Bitrace.

Huione Group is a Cambodia-based financial conglomerate that operates payment service Huione Pay and crypto exchange Huione Crypto, along with Huione Guarantee.

Related: Short squeeze hits top 500 cryptos as traders unwind bearish bets

The development may lead to a slowdown in phishing and pig butchering scams, which were previously offered as a service by hundreds of vendors on the marketplace.

In December, an investor lost their entire Bitcoin (BTC) retirement fund in an artificial intelligence-fueled romance scam, where the con artists used prolonged emotional manipulation to convince the investors to transfer their funds.

Phishing scams became the second-largest threat after supply-chain breaches, costing crypto investors a cumulative $722 million across 248 incidents in 2025, according to blockchain security firm CertiK.

Related: Monero climbs to new high of $687 as crypto surveillance tightens

Source: CoinTelegraph