Telegram platform hides huge encryption fund transactions, North Korean criminals suspected of Money Laundering

Recently, a Telegram trading platform called "New Coin Guarantee" has attracted widespread attention. According to an investigation report by blockchain analysis company Elliptic, the transaction amount facilitated by this platform has reached as high as 8.4 billion USD since 2022, making it the second largest underground trading platform exposed after "Huiwang Guarantee."

The report points out that USDT is the main trading medium in this market. What is more concerning is that some funds are suspected to be related to the illegal activities of North Korean hacker groups. This platform not only provides services to scam groups in Southeast Asia but has also become an important tool for implementing cyber crimes such as "pig-butchering".

The number of users on the new coin guarantee platform has reached 233,000, and the range of services provided by its merchants is extremely broad, including Money Laundering, satellite communication equipment, counterfeit documents, and personal information databases, among others. Some merchants even venture into more dangerous illegal areas, such as cross-border tracking and surrogacy agencies, highlighting the complexity and harmfulness of this criminal ecosystem.

It is worth noting that the development speed of the new coin guarantee platform is astonishing. In the fourth quarter of 2024, its quarterly trading volume will exceed 1 billion USD for the first time, far surpassing traditional dark web markets based on the Tor network.

The investigation also found potential links between the platform and North Korean hacker groups. On November 12, 2024, $220,000 USDT was transferred to a wallet address associated with the new coin platform, and this funding is suspected to have originated from a hacking attack on a certain exchange in July of last year.

In response to this situation, relevant social platforms have taken action by shutting down thousands of channels associated with these illegal transactions. U.S. financial regulators have also begun to pay attention to this issue and have taken measures to restrict related organizations' access to the U.S. financial system.

This incident highlights the regulatory challenges faced by the cryptocurrency market and serves as a wake-up call for governments and financial institutions around the world, urging them to strengthen regulations and enforcement against digital asset trading.