Hooded figure with laptop, green code cascading, symbolizing hacking and cyber threats.

Key Takeaways:

Huione launched its stablecoin, USDH, and a proprietary chat service to sidestep regulatory oversight and reduce reliance on external platforms like Telegram and Tether.
Elliptic reports $24 billion in Huione-linked transactions tied to money laundering, cybercrime, and scams, including activities by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Allegations tie Huione’s money laundering operations to forced labor camps and human trafficking, further spotlighting its role in global criminal enterprises.

Huione, a controversial online marketplace implicated in illegal activities, has launched its own stablecoin, USDH, and a proprietary chat service to circumvent regulatory oversight and reduce reliance on platforms like Telegram and Tether.

Blockchain security firm Elliptic links Huione to $24 billion in transactions tied to money laundering, stolen data, and fraud schemes such as “pig butchering” scams.

Huione Guarantee, a gray market researchers believe is central to the online scam ecosystem, now includes a messaging app, stablecoin, and crypto exchange—while facilitating $24 billion in transactions. https://t.co/HIRrCxSdLs
— WIRED (@WIRED) January 14, 2025

USDH is designed to avoid traditional regulatory restrictions and freezing limitations, replacing Tether (USDT) as the platform’s primary currency.

This follows Tether’s freeze of a Huione Pay account in 2024 due to funds tied to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.

Huione’s new chat service further demonstrates its effort to operate independently.

HuiOne Guarantee, an illicit Telegram-based marketplace, has surpassed Hydra with $24B in crypto inflows.

⤷ $150K funneled from North Korea’s Lazarus hacking group 💻
⤷ Facilitating romance scams, human trafficking, and money laundering

Learn more: https://t.co/Qj3S6uhr1m
— The Hacker News (@TheHackersNews) January 14, 2025

Elliptic reports that the platform enables large-scale online fraud, with thousands of vendors offering services like money laundering, stolen data, and tools for cybercrime.

Disturbingly, the marketplace allegedly sells items like electric shackles for human trafficking and operates a money-laundering service from the Golden Fortune Science and Technology Park, a reported labor camp exploiting workers from Vietnam, Malaysia, and China for online scams.

Huione’s ties to the Cambodian-based Huione Group underscore its global role in facilitating criminal enterprises, raising significant concerns about its unchecked operations.