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A stablecoin for pig butchering scammers
Telegram-based illicit marketplace Huione Guarantee has launched its own stablecoin, USDH, according to security firm Elliptic.
The platform allegedly operates under the Cambodian conglomerate Huione Group and plays a central role in enabling pig butchering scams, which exploit trust and relationships (often romantic) to defraud victims. Hundreds of vendors on Huione Guarantee offer illicit goods and services, including the laundering of pig butchering proceeds.
Elliptic calls it the largest illicit online marketplace ever with transactions totaling $24 billion. Chainalysis claims to have tracked even a higher volume of transactions north of $49 billion.
Huione Guarantee and its users have heavily relied on Tether’s USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization. But USDT comes with a feature that allows Tether to freeze blacklisted accounts, a safeguard that has been increasingly utilized in combating illicit activities.
Elliptic suspects that such asset freezes may have partly motivated Huione Guarantee’s decision to launch its own dollar-pegged cryptocurrency.
Huione Guarantee vendors offer laundering pig butchering proceeds. (Elliptic)
Pig butchering scams are one of the most widely circulating scams, according to blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. A University of Texas study estimates that over $75 billion has been stolen through such schemes.
These scams often rely on trafficked and kidnapped individuals who are forced to act out the scams. Victims-turned-perpetrators are imprisoned in compounds and exploited to target others. Some of these compounds have been linked to politicians in Southeast Asia.
In Cambodia, award-winning journalist Mech Dara was arrested last year, which human rights activists claim was due to his exposure of crypto scam hubs and their alleged links to Senator Ly Yong Phat.
Phat, a leading member of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party, has faced allegations connected to human trafficking and forced labor relating to cryptocurrency scams. He has been sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury over the accusations, which the Cambodian government has publicly condemned.
Dara was released on bail after issuing a public apology to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and his son, the incumbent prime minister. He then announced his decision to retire from journalism.
Disgraced former Philippines mayor Alice Guo has also been implicated. In 2019, Guo co-founded Baofu Land Developments, a company whose properties were later raided to rescue hundreds of trafficked victims forced into pig butchering scams.
Sony’s blockchain ambitions clash with decentralization ideals and memecoins
Sony has launched its Ethereum layer-2 network, Soneium, but the debut quickly sparked controversy after the platform blacklisted some memecoin contract addresses.
Blockchain participants observed that two token contracts had been frozen by Soneium, leading to accusations that the chain had “rugged” users for $100,000 worth of Ether.
Soneium director Sota Watanabe told Cointelegraph that the tokens were blacklisted due to intellectual property violations, but added that these decisions are open to appeal. The two projects in question have indeed initiated appeals and are updating their tokens to comply with the network’s policies. He said that no funds were frozen, as the blacklist only restricted public RPC interactions with the flagged contracts.
Meanwhile, the crypto community criticized the centralized nature of the permissioned chain. Many expressed concerns about whether other centralized networks might adopt similar practices, while others used the incident as an opportunity to highlight the decentralization of their own platforms.
That said, community members demonstrated it was possible (though not simple) to get around the sequencer based censorship to buy a banned token with a forced transaction on the L1.
Founders of Memecoin launch pad Pump.fun and Avalanche blockchain bash Soneium debut. (Alon/Emin Gün Sirer)
Soneium, developed by Sony’s blockchain arm, is built on the Optimism Foundation’s OP Stack—the same framework powering other layer-2 networks such as Coinbase’s Base.
The blockchain’s launch featured partnerships with Sony Pictures and Sony Music, offering fans access to exclusive content through non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
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Tripartite vows against Lazarus
A joint statement from Japan, South Korea, and the US attributed at least $650 million in cryptocurrency theft to North Korea in 2024.
The year’s largest thefts targeted Asia-based exchanges, with $308 million stolen from Japan’s DMM Bitcoin and $235 million from India’s WazirX. Even before the official statement, security experts had linked these attacks to North Korean state hackers, including the infamous Lazarus Group.
According to the United Nations, the hermit kingdom is using these stolen funds to bankroll its weapons program. In a July 2024 briefing, the US-based Arms Control Association estimated that North Korea has developed 50 nuclear warheads. The US and Russia hold 5,748 and 5,580 warheads, respectively, dwarfing North Korea’s arsenal.
North Korea began testing intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2017, marking a major escalation in its weapons program. (Arms Control Association)
The joint statement warned of a sharp increase in sophisticated social engineering tactics by DPRK operatives, designed to deploy malware through cyberattacks. Beyond hacking, North Korean information technology workers present a significant insider threat to the private sector. By posing as legitimate employees, these IT operatives are believed to generate between $250 million and $600 million annually for the regime, according to the UN.
The DPRK’s brazen tactics and reliance on cybercrime underscore its growing dependence on illicit activity to sustain its ambitions. With blockchain firms and exchanges in the crosshairs, the global crypto industry finds itself at the frontline of a shadowy economic war.
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Largest South Korean exchange in limbo
Upbit has reportedly been notified of a business suspension order by financial authorities for alleged violations of Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations.
Unnamed sources cited by Maeil Business Newspaper said that Upbit received a prior notice on Jan. 9 from financial authorities for the alleged violations.
If the suspension is finalized, Upbit faces restrictions on new customer signups for up to six months.Upbit has until the 20th to submit a statement to the authorities regarding the suspension order.
Upbit is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume in South Korea, and on Jan. 16, ranked sixth in global 24-hour trading volume, according to CoinGecko.
Upbit is South Korea’s largest exchange and among the world leaders in trading volume (CoinGecko)
The Financial Intelligence Unit’s suspension order is expected to affect Upbit’s ongoing business license renewal. The license, which must be renewed every three years, expired last October and is currently under review.
The FIU began an on-site inspection of Upbit’s renewal application in August 2024. During the inspection, approximately 700,000 instances of suspected non-compliance with KYC requirements were identified.
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Yohan Yun
Yohan Yun is a multimedia journalist covering blockchain since 2017. He has contributed to crypto media outlet Forkast as an editor and has covered Asian tech stories as an assistant reporter for Bloomberg BNA and Forbes. He spends his free time cooking, and experimenting with new recipes.
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