The US Department of Justice has restrained more than $52m in cryptocurrency in a coordinated operation targeting wallets and online channels connected to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language marketplace linked to international scam groups.
Tether said on 11 September that the DOJ credited its “proactive assistance” during the action, which took place over one day. Two wallets allegedly used by Xinbi to receive payments were seized after collecting about $12m, while US authorities sought restraint orders against 47 further wallets linked to suspected money laundering.
Authorities described Xinbi as a service hub rather than a single fraud operation. Its vendors allegedly connected scam groups with money launderers, fake investment platforms and recruiters involved in human trafficking. The platform was also used to advertise services, accept payments and transfer cryptocurrency proceeds.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said the operation took the Scam Center Strike Force’s total enforcement figure to $938m. The available announcements did not specify whether every restrained wallet held USDT or identify the other digital assets involved. The two seized wallets and the 47 wallets facing restraint requests represent separate legal measures.
Blockchain intelligence company Elliptic estimated in May 2025 that Xinbi had processed at least $8.4bn since 2022, according to Wired. It linked the marketplace to money laundering, stolen data, fake investment schemes and services used by human-trafficking networks. Wired reported that the business behind Xinbi was incorporated in Colorado in 2022.
By April 2026, Elliptic estimated Xinbi’s total transaction volume had reached $21bn. The marketplace processed a further $505m during the 19 days after the United Kingdom sanctioned it in March 2026.
Tether’s role
As the issuer of USDT, Tether can block tokens held at identified addresses after receiving valid law-enforcement requests. Chief executive Paolo Ardoino said criminal groups should not assume cryptocurrency puts their funds beyond investigators’ reach, because stablecoin transactions can be traced and illicit funds stopped once wallets are identified.
Tether said it had helped more than 340 law-enforcement agencies freeze over $5bn across 67 countries.
The company also assisted a June 2025 DOJ civil forfeiture case involving about $225.3m in cryptocurrency linked to investment fraud affecting more than 400 suspected victims. The FBI and US Secret Service traced seven groups of Tether tokens through a laundering network after Tether and OKX flagged suspicious accounts in 2023. The DOJ alleged the money came from confidence-based “pig butchering” scams. FBI figures cited in that case put cryptocurrency investment-fraud losses at $5.8bn in 2024.
Xinbi and Huione Guarantee had channels blocked by Telegram in May 2025 after researchers linked the Chinese-language markets to scams and money laundering. Elliptic data cited by Reuters said they had processed more than $35bn combined since 2021. Xinbi later returned through new channels, while other marketplaces took on displaced business.
By June 2025, Elliptic said Tudou Guarantee, partly owned by Huione Group, had more than doubled in size and was processing about $15m in daily crypto payments. Researchers said guarantee markets used escrow and deposits to connect vendors with customers, but also linked scam groups to sellers of stolen data, laundering services, telecommunications tools and equipment associated with forced-labour compounds.
FinCEN separately designated Cambodia-based Huione Group a primary money-laundering concern in May 2025, saying it had processed at least $4bn in illicit proceeds between August 2021 and January 2025. That included at least $37m linked to North Korean cyber theft, $36m from crypto investment fraud and $300m from other cyber scams.
