US authorities have escalated enforcement against Xinbi Guarantee, a major cryptocurrency marketplace serving Southeast Asia's underground economy. A federal court authorized the seizure of Telegram channels on September 7, while investigators seized two wallets holding approximately $12 million and sought restraint of 47 additional addresses linked to vendors and suspected money laundering operations.
The Treasury Department designated Xinbi a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology, companies that provided messaging and payment infrastructure to the marketplace. This dual approach targeted both the movement of funds and the systems used to coordinate transactions.
Infrastructure and Adaptations
Xinbi had begun shifting operations to the encrypted SafeW application around June 2025 and introduced XinbiPay, also known as NewPay, as scrutiny intensified. Earlier enforcement actions included freezes on the marketplace's USDT network, prompting exploration of alternative stablecoins including USDD.
The enforcement action follows sanctions imposed by the UK and reflects a broader government focus on service providers that facilitate the movement of stolen cryptocurrency and proceeds from scams between wallets, stablecoins, and cash-out networks.
Services and Criminal Activity
Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis identified Xinbi as a critical hub connecting cyber theft, fraud proceeds, and underground financial networks. North Korea-linked threat actors moved tens of millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency through vendors on the platform.
The marketplace hosted specialists known as "Black U" launderers who accepted cryptocurrency traceable to hacks and replaced it with stablecoins sourced from separate illicit revenue streams, including pig-butchering and romance scams. This service allowed stolen tokens to blend into larger pools of criminal flows while hackers received different assets to convert into fiat currency.
Chainalysis documented that Xinbi vendors offered cash delivery, bank-card fraud, personal data sales, know-your-customer bypasses, scam-platform development, surveillance equipment, and malware services. Vendor channels also served as recruitment pipelines for some Southeast Asian scam compounds.
Since emerging around 2022, Xinbi processed an estimated $24 billion in digital assets and fiat, making it one of the largest transaction-guarantee markets in the region.
Immediate Market Impact
Enforcement pressure has already triggered defensive actions across competing platforms. Blockchain monitoring firm Bitrace detected abnormal outflows from a Xinbi sub-guarantee platform, with daily USDT withdrawals jumping to approximately $1.28 million on September 8 and $1.81 million on September 9 as merchants moved funds to reduce exposure to potential freezes.
Fulilai Guarantee, another major transaction-guarantee marketplace, began removing money-laundering merchants from public groups following the Xinbi sanctions. The platform's associated wallet recorded approximately $9.3 million in outflows since the enforcement announcement.
Rival platforms face a new calculation: continuing to host laundering merchants preserves transaction revenue but increases risk that their wallets, channels, and affiliated companies become enforcement targets.
