The addition of an in-house communication service known as “ChatMe,” a cryptocurrency exchange (Huione Crypto), and a US dollar-backed stablecoin (“USDH”) suggest that Huione Guarantee intends to become a true full-service , self-sufficient platform . The website for USDH, the Elliptic researchers said, describes it as “not prohibited” by regulators around the world and says it “avoids common freezing and transfer restrictions” that might apply to other cryptocurrencies.

In its work last year, Elliptic found that in its first three years of operation, Huione Garantiya dealers moved $11 billion on the platform. In less than a year, researchers now estimate that the total total is $24 billion. The platform’s various expansions all contributed to the increase, but ultimately its escrow and transfer services were the core service.

“With the Huione Guarantee, the main thing being sold is actually laundering the proceeds of online scams,” Robinson charged. “The majority of funds passing through the market are associated with dealers who openly offer money laundering services that talk about the types of fraudulent income they are willing to accept.”

Meanwhile, as the business develops, researchers say that the owner of the platform, Huione Group, is working to reduce its association with the market and the connection between Huione Guarantee and other connected services, such as Huione Pay. The market has even been rebranded as “Haowang Guarantee,” although Huione Group confirmed to researchers that Huione Guarantee is still a “strategic partner and shareholder.”

“The Huione Guarantee Group on Telegram continues to be widely used, with over 139,000 users,” said Jason Tower, the country director for Myanmar at the United States Institute of Peace. “Telegram groups are used to transfer large amounts of cryptocurrencies at a significant discount. In comparison, competing platforms are losing a lot of users. This is probably the result of crackdowns by the Chinese government.”

Robinson says an initial analysis from Elliptic found nearly $6 billion passed through a Telegram bot it said was “used primarily for online gambling on the Huione Guarantee.” The researchers’ analysis suggests that it may also be allegedly linked to money laundering. Users deposit crypto into a wallet and can transfer their balance to individual minigames within their own Telegram groups. The “games” are extremely simple, however, and don’t seem to involve any skill. Players also often bet for very long periods of time, bet even amounts, and leave proper intervals between their bets. All of this “combined to suggest automated gambling for the purpose of money laundering rather than entertainment,” Robinson said.

Despite Huione Guarantee’s highly visible strategy, Elliptic researchers say the platform is far from completely self-sufficient. So far, Huione’s stablecoin and cryptocurrency exchange has failed to register a significant number of transactions, Robinson said, despite some promotion within existing communication channels. As the market works to drive the transition, continued reliance on third parties may still be a weakness—at least for now.

“The Huione Guarantee still relies on some centralized infrastructure, Tether and Telegram,” Robinson said. “I think there’s an opportunity now to prevent this through service providers. I think if we wait too long, there’s an opportunity for them to move to their own infrastructure and that’s going to be more challenging.