The US Justice Department restrained more than $52 million in crypto linked to the Xinbi Guarantee scam marketplace on Wednesday, seizing two wallets holding approximately $12 million and pursuing restraints on 47 additional wallets across the network. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned Singapore-based SafeW Technology and Cambodia-based Anwen Technology for allegedly providing infrastructure to the platform. According to the Treasury, Xinbi has processed over $24 billion in crypto and fiat since around 2022, primarily through Southeast Asia, with the platform reportedly used by North Korean hackers and entities connected to the sanctioned Prince Group.

This enforcement expands beyond individual operators to the marketplaces and service providers that enable scam networks — the DOJ seized Telegram channels hosting vendor advertisements and credited stablecoin issuer Tether with assisting the investigation. The action follows UK sanctions imposed on Xinbi, indicating coordinated international pressure on crypto-facilitated crime infrastructure. The Treasury stated that Xinbi began migrating to SafeW's encrypted messaging application around June 2025 as law-enforcement scrutiny intensified, with Anwen reportedly developing XinbiPay, a crypto wallet used by the marketplace.

For traders, this indicates regulatory momentum against crypto-enabled criminal infrastructure rather than protocol-level risk. The sanctions prohibit US persons from transacting with designated entities and freeze US property, but the enforcement targets a closed scam marketplace network — not open DeFi protocols or mainstream exchanges. Tether's cooperation suggests stablecoin issuers are increasingly integrated into enforcement efforts, reducing systemic friction when authorities act. The $52 million restraint is material but represents a fraction of Xinbi's reported processing volume, indicating enforcement is still catching up to flows.

The specific signal to watch is whether additional stablecoin issuers or exchanges announce compliance actions tied to Xinbi-linked addresses — that would confirm the freeze is operationally effective and reduce the network's ability to move seized funds.

Source: CoinTelegraph