CoinDesk
The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language online marketplace it accuses of serving as a clearinghouse for crypto-funded cyber scams run out of Southeast Asia. According to the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the platform processed as much as $24 billion in transactions since launching in 2022, much of it tied to cryptocurrency. The designation also sweeps in Singapore-based encrypted messaging app SafeW and Cambodia-based wallet operator Anwen Technology, the infrastructure Treasury said Xinbi migrated to as enforcement attention grew.
Why it matters
The action is the third major Treasury strike against Southeast Asian scam-enabling infrastructure in recent months, following similar designations against Prince Group and Cambodia's Huione Group. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the move as a direct response to the scale of fraud hitting U.S. victims, calling the schemes "egregious fraud." Treasury worked alongside the Department of Justice's newly established Scam Center Strike Force, signaling that the U.S. is treating the region's scam compounds as a coordinated enforcement priority rather than a series of isolated cases.
Market impact
The designation cuts off all U.S.-person financial activity with Xinbi, SafeW, and Anwen, effectively walling the entities off from the global dollar system. For the broader crypto market, the action does not target a named token or exchange, but it underscores how pervasively on-chain rails are still used by transnational scam operations. Xinbi was tied to North Korean hackers and money-laundering networks, and the UK sanctioned the same entity in March, suggesting allied coordination is now standard for this category of enforcement. Watch for secondary designations against the wallet and messaging infrastructure successor platforms migrate to next.
Frequently asked questions
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What is Xinbi Guarantee?
Xinbi Guarantee is a Chinese-language online marketplace that the U.S. Treasury's OFAC has sanctioned as a hub for crypto-funded cyber scams run out of Southeast Asia.
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How much money did Xinbi process?
OFAC says Xinbi handled as much as $24 billion in transactions since launching in 2022, much of it tied to cryptocurrency.
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Why did Treasury also sanction SafeW and Anwen Technology?
Treasury said Xinbi migrated merchant and money-laundering activity to SafeW, a Singapore-based encrypted messaging app, and to Anwen's XinbiPay wallet after enforcement attention grew.
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How does this fit with other recent Treasury actions?
It is the third major Treasury strike against Southeast Asian scam-enabling infrastructure in recent months, following designations against Cambodia's Prince Group and Huione Group.
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Does this sanction target any specific cryptocurrency?
No specific token or exchange is named. The action targets the marketplace and its wallet and messaging infrastructure rather than a particular coin.
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