An Elliptic investigation says Telegram now hosts the largest-known crypto black market, with Chinese-language users moving roughly $2 billion in transactions each month. Easy access, rapid relaunch of banned channels and active Chinese-language moderation have replaced the technical hurdles that once defined darknet crime.
Germany and Switzerland, with Europol coordination, dismantled Cryptomixer, a nine-year-old crypto mixing service accused of laundering roughly $1.4 billion for ransomware groups and darknet markets. The takedown removes a long-standing money-laundering hub from the ecosystem.