Despite an announced shutdown, Huione Exchange continues to process billions of dollars in illicit funds with increased vigour.
Despite an official shutdown and a formal designation by FinCEN as a major money laundering concern, the Chinese-language platform Huione continues to operate at an industrial scale, processing billions of dollars. Its continued activity highlights the complexity of disrupting on-chain financial crime and exposes the limitations of current enforcement measures.
The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) moved to designate the Cambodia-based Huione platform under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act, yet transaction data indicates no meaningful decline in activity.
On the contrary, activity associated with Huione appears to have increased since the announcement. This underscores the platform’s operational resilience and the limited deterrent impact of regulatory blacklisting, which typically leads US banks to sever ties immediately.
Huione’s sustained operations reflect a wider pattern among Chinese-language laundering networks centred around ‘guarantee services’. The platform functions at scale with a sophisticated and decentralised infrastructure, suggesting a shift towards more embedded financial ecosystems designed to evade conventional enforcement.
Its cryptocurrency exchange has even re-emerged under a new domain while maintaining active social media channels and strong user engagement. The site continues to list its affiliated token (XOC) and Huione-backed stablecoin (USDH).
The range of laundering techniques facilitated by Huione is diverse and increasingly complex, encompassing card transfers, fiat-to-stablecoin conversions, and multi-stage laundering operations—sometimes involving in-person cash handovers.
Sources close to the matter stress that Huione’s closure has done little to hinder its activity. Effectively tackling such advanced, transnational laundering operations will require long-term, multi-pronged enforcement strategies that go well beyond national jurisdictions. International cooperation, and real-time data sharing to trace transaction flows and close enforcement loopholes.
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