US authorities have moved to disrupt Xinbi Guarantee, a crypto-enabled scam marketplace, by seizing funds tied to the platform and sanctioning the organization and its technology providers. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said more than $52 million in cryptocurrency associated with Xinbi and its vendor network was restrained as part of a coordinated operation against the illicit operation.

In parallel, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization and sanctioned SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology, alleging they supplied the infrastructure used to run the scheme. The actions target both the financial rails and the communications tools that help scam centers scale.

Key takeaways

• The DOJ reported seizing two Xinbi-linked wallets used to collect vendor payments totaling about $12 million, plus seeking restraints on 47 additional wallets tied to money laundering.
• US court authorization also covered Telegram channels used by Xinbi vendors to market laundering services, scam-related websites, and recruitment offerings.
• OFAC sanctions block Xinbi’s access to US-based property and generally prohibit US persons from engaging with designated entities.
• Treasury alleged Xinbi shifted parts of its messaging and payments stack to technology provided by SafeW and Anwen starting around June 2025 as enforcement pressure increased.
• Xinbi has reportedly processed more than $24 billion in crypto and fiat since about 2022, largely routed through Southeast Asia.

DOJ seizes wallets and targets Xinbi’s vendor payments

According to the DOJ, its Scam Center Strike Force seized two cryptocurrency wallets associated with Xinbi that were used to collect payments from vendors. The wallets contained approximately $12 million.

Beyond the immediate seizures, prosecutors said a request for restraints extended to 47 additional wallets believed to be connected to money laundering across Xinbi’s broader network. The move reflects an approach aimed not only at identifying individual participants, but also at disrupting the payment flow that enables scam marketplaces to function.

The DOJ added that a US District Court in the District of Columbia authorized the seizure of Telegram channels hosting the marketplace on Sept. 7. Prosecutors say the unsealed warrant describes vendors using these channels to advertise money laundering services, custom scam-investment websites, and recruitment services for scam centers operating in Southeast Asia.

Importantly for market participants, the DOJ framed the operation as an attempt to dismantle the “financial and communications infrastructure” behind industrial-scale scam centers—an enforcement theme that has increasingly focused on platforms and intermediaries rather than only end operators.

Treasury sanctions Xinbi and alleged tech enablers

In the separate but coordinated Treasury action, OFAC designated Xinbi as a significant transnational criminal organization. The Treasury also sanctioned SafeW Technology and Anwen Technology, based on allegations that they provided technological and financial support to Xinbi.

Treasury stated that Xinbi moved portions of its merchant and money-laundering networks to SafeW’s encrypted messaging application around June 2025, describing the timing as occurring as law enforcement scrutiny intensified. Treasury also alleged Anwen developed XinbiPay—referred to as NewPay—a crypto wallet and payment application used by the marketplace.

For investors and compliance teams, these designations matter because they extend risk awareness beyond “scam tokens” or isolated wallet addresses. They highlight how enforcement can shift to the tools, services, and integrations that help illicit platforms operate at scale, including messaging layers and payment apps.

Reported crypto volume and links to other sanctioned groups

The Treasury said Xinbi has processed more than $24 billion in crypto and fiat since around 2022, with activity primarily involving Southeast Asia. The agency also stated that the platform has been used by North Korean hackers and entities connected to the sanctioned Prince Group.

OFAC explained that the sanctions block Xinbi’s US property and interests and generally prohibit US persons from transacting with designated entities. This can complicate any attempts to route funds through US touchpoints, even if the scam’s primary activity is overseas.

The DOJ also credited Tether with assisting in the investigation. While the details of that assistance were not expanded upon in the provided material, the attribution is notable given how stablecoin rails can be used in both legitimate and illicit activity contexts.

Escalating crackdown across the US and UK

This latest US action follows earlier steps by the United Kingdom. Cointelegraph previously reported that the UK imposed sanctions on Xinbi in a separate crackdown.

As described in the provided material, on March 26 the UK government sanctioned Xinbi with the goal of limiting the platform’s access to crypto. Under those sanctions, UK assets tied to Xinbi would be frozen, and the platform barred from the country’s financial, trade, and travel networks.

Taken together, the US and UK moves show how enforcement can tighten access across major jurisdictions. They also signal that regulators are increasingly willing to treat scam marketplaces as broader criminal enterprises with identifiable enabling infrastructure—communications channels, payment tools, and vendor services—rather than as isolated bad actors.

What to watch next

Law enforcement has now targeted both Xinbi’s wallets and the communications channels used to recruit vendors and promote laundering services. The next question for the industry is whether additional wallets tied to the remaining 47 restrained targets—and other infrastructure providers connected to SafeW, Anwen, or XinbiPay/NewPay—will be named or constrained as investigations mature.

Circle agreed to acquire Singapore-based payments company Tazapay for $400 million in an all-stock transaction, according to a Sept. 8 announcement and an accompanying U.S. regulatory filing.

The Circle Tazapay acquisition is expected to close in 2027. Completion remains subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals, including clearance from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Circle plans to use Tazapay’s banking connections and local payout infrastructure to extend USDC-based payments across Asia-Pacific and emerging markets. Tazapay processes more than $25 billion in annualized payment volume and supports payout rails across over 100 markets, Circle said.

Circle will pay $400 million through Class A shares

Circle disclosed the purchase terms through a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement was signed on Sept. 4 through Taurus Acquisition, an indirect wholly owned Circle subsidiary.

The $400 million consideration will consist of Circle Class A common stock. The final number of shares will be calculated using Circle’s volume-weighted average closing price over the 20 trading days preceding completion.

The price remains subject to adjustments for Tazapay’s unpaid debt, transaction expenses and available cash. Circle will initially withhold shares equal to 5% of the consideration for specified indemnification claims. Another 3% will be held for additional claims.

The first holdback is scheduled for release in stages over 18 months after closing. The additional shares could remain restricted for as long as four years, subject to any unresolved claims.

Circle also plans to grant $25 million in restricted stock units to selected Tazapay employees after completion. Those awards will vest in eight quarterly installments, beginning around 27 months after closing.

Tazapay adds payout rails across more than 100 markets

Tazapay provides cross-border payment infrastructure to payment service providers, financial institutions, online marketplaces and technology platforms. Its network includes more than 60 banking and fintech partners.

Circle said approximately 60% of Tazapay’s transaction volume already involves stablecoins. Combining the platform with USDC could connect blockchain settlement with local bank accounts and payment methods in markets where recipients still require domestic currencies.

Tazapay’s reported payment volume has expanded quickly. The company said in an August 2025 funding release that it processed more than $10 billion annually. Circle now places the figure above $25 billion.

Those numbers are company-reported metrics and have not been presented as independently audited transaction data. The companies also did not disclose Tazapay’s revenue, profit or contribution expected after completion.

Circle Ventures previously invested in Tazapay. The Singapore company also raised capital from Ripple, Peak XV Partners, Norinchukin Capital, GMO VenturePartners, January Capital and ARC180.

Circle Tazapay acquisition extends the USDC network

Tazapay has worked as a design partner for Circle Payments Network since 2025. Circle introduced the network to support cross-border transactions using stablecoins and compatible domestic payment systems.

As crypto.news previously reported, Circle Payments Network introduced real-time stablecoin settlement for business payments, remittances, treasury transfers and payroll. Buying Tazapay would give Circle direct ownership of infrastructure that already connects to that network.

Circle has also expanded through partnerships. In related coverage, Nium connected USDC settlement with payouts across 190 countries, while a Fireblocks integration opened local currency payouts across more than 50 countries.

The Tazapay transaction differs because Circle is acquiring the provider rather than connecting through a commercial partnership. Ownership could give Circle greater control over product development, routing and institutional integrations. Whether it produces those benefits depends on regulatory approval and successful integration.

Circle claimed the combination would help make USDC “the default payment rail for cross-border commerce.” That statement is forward-looking. USDC still competes with bank transfers, card networks, other stablecoins and regional payment systems.

Regulatory approval remains the next major step

MAS approval is the clearest outstanding requirement. The SEC filing also refers to other regulatory clearances, employee retention conditions and the absence of a material adverse change before closing.

The agreement allows either party to terminate the transaction if it has not closed within an initial nine-month period. That deadline may be extended, but not beyond 15 months, when specified regulatory approvals remain outstanding. The agreement does not include a termination fee.

Circle said Tazapay customers should experience no immediate changes to their services, APIs, pricing or support. The companies have not announced an integration schedule or identified which payment corridors will receive USDC support first.

Circle shares closed at $96.18 on Sept. 8, down approximately 5.8%. The shares traded between $95.20 and $101.14 during the session. The broader decline cannot be attributed solely to the acquisition without additional evidence.

The next verified developments will likely include regulatory filings, MAS approval and Circle’s issuance of shares at closing. Circle must also file a prospectus supplement covering the resale of shares delivered to Tazapay sellers and equity holders.

Fidelity Digital Assets renewed its institutional push for the Fidelity Digital Dollar on Sept. 9, positioning the Ethereum-based stablecoin for payments, settlement and tokenized markets. 

Fidelity’s public dashboard showed approximately 50.09 million FIDD outstanding, giving the token a market capitalization of about $50.09 million at its $1 redemption value.

The statement expands on FIDD’s intended uses rather than announcing a new token. Fidelity unveiled the stablecoin in January 2026 and began publishing reserve reports in February. Its latest communication presents FIDD as a bridge between conventional financial accounts and blockchain-based markets.

Fidelity Digital Dollar combines issuance and reserves

Fidelity Digital Assets, National Association, issues FIDD and allows eligible customers to purchase or redeem each unit for $1. The national trust bank manages token issuance, custody and trading. Fidelity Management & Research Company manages the assets backing the circulating supply.

According to Fidelity’s published terms, the reserves may include Treasury securities with no more than three months remaining to maturity, overnight reverse repurchase agreements, government money market funds and deposits at regulated U.S. banks. Fidelity says the assets remain in segregated accounts, including accounts at Bank of New York Mellon.

FIDD does not distribute interest earned from those reserves to token holders. Fidelity Digital Assets retains the income. The terms also state that FIDD is not legal tender, receives no FDIC or SIPC insurance and carries no guarantee from a government agency.

FIDD targets payments and on-chain settlement

Fidelity describes FIDD as a payment instrument rather than an investment designed to generate returns. The company identified continuous settlement, account funding, capital transfers and tokenized real-world assets as possible applications for institutional and retail customers.

FIDD operates as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. Holders can transfer it to eligible Ethereum addresses, although network gas fees apply. Fidelity can restrict addresses or freeze associated tokens when it suspects sanctions violations, fraud, criminal activity or other legal and operational risks.

Eligible customers can buy or sell FIDD through Fidelity Digital Assets, Fidelity Crypto and Fidelity Crypto for Wealth Managers. The stablecoin is also available through Kraken and Bullish, extending access beyond Fidelity’s own platforms.

Direct redemption remains subject to eligibility requirements. Holders need an approved Fidelity account and must complete identity verification, anti-money laundering and sanctions checks. Fidelity says qualifying redemptions generally settle almost immediately but may require up to two business days.

Daily disclosures support FIDD’s reserve model

Fidelity publishes FIDD’s circulating supply and reserve net asset value after each business day. It also prepares monthly reserve reports examined by PricewaterhouseCoopers under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

These reports assess whether the reserve value equals or exceeds the nominal value of outstanding FIDD on a specified reporting date. The process is an attestation of management’s reserve information, not a full audit of Fidelity Digital Assets’ financial statements.

Fidelity’s dashboard showed FIDD trading at $1 with about 50.09 million units outstanding when checked. CoinGecko also placed the token close to its intended peg. However, Fidelity’s terms warn that prices on third-party markets may temporarily move above or below $1.

Fidelity enters an established stablecoin market

FIDD joins a concentrated dollar-stablecoin market led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. Fidelity is competing through its custody, trading and asset-management infrastructure rather than through the size of FIDD’s current circulation.

Institutional stablecoin services are expanding across lending markets. As crypto.news reported, Compound opened a USDC lending market with defined collateral requirements and loan-to-value ratios reaching 87%.

Stablecoin lending is also expanding outside the U.S. In related coverage, Coinbase extended USDC lending into Brazil through Morpho-powered markets, showing how dollar tokens are being integrated into regional financial services.

The next test for FIDD is whether Fidelity can generate regular use beyond exchange trading and transfers between customer accounts. Fidelity said additional exchanges may support the token, but it provided no listing timetable, circulation target or expected transaction volume.

Future daily disclosures will show whether FIDD’s supply grows, while monthly reserve reports will provide evidence about its backing. Adoption will depend on exchange distribution, institutional integrations and whether clients use FIDD for settlement rather than holding it primarily as on-chain cash.

DeFi Development Corp. closed its $11 million CHAD preferred stock offering on Sept. 8, creating a new financing channel for its Solana treasury strategy.

The Nasdaq-listed company sold 1.375 million shares of Variable Rate Series C Perpetual Preferred Stock at $8 each. The security trades on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker CHAD and carries a $10 stated amount.

DeFi Development received approximately $10.3 million in net proceeds after underwriting discounts, commissions and estimated expenses, according to its latest SEC filing. The company said it used the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital, SOL purchases and strategic initiatives.

CHAD’s final offering was smaller than earlier terms

The completed offering differed from preliminary terms published earlier in September. DeFi Development previously proposed selling 2.2 million shares at $9 each, which would have generated $19.8 million in gross proceeds.

As crypto.news reported, those earlier CHAD terms included a $19.8 million offering and a possible 330,000-share overallotment. The completed transaction instead involved 1.375 million shares priced at $8.

The underwriter received a 30-day option to purchase another 206,250 shares at the final public offering price. R.F. Lafferty & Co. acted as the sole book-running manager.

DeFi Development’s final release said Fundstrat co-founder Tom Lee participated alongside other investors. Lee also serves as chairman of Ethereum treasury company BitMine Immersion Technologies.

Hunter Biden has defended his LAPTOP memecoin hours before its Sept. 9 launch on Base, saying 20% of the supply will be distributed through community airdrops while 30% will be tied to political, crypto and cultural predictions.

In an X post early Wednesday, Biden acknowledged the criticism surrounding the project and framed LAPTOP as an attempt to take ownership of the laptop controversy that followed him for years. “I understand the cynicism,” he wrote. “Why something that has been so misused by grifters?”

Biden used President Donald Trump’s TRUMP memecoin as his main comparison, calling the token a “grift” and citing losses suffered by its holders. Nearly 989,000 wallets that bought TRUMP were sitting on a combined $3.81 billion in unrealized losses by July, according to Nansen data previously covered by crypto.news.

The LAPTOP launch has already drawn criticism from crypto traders, while Kraken deleted a promotional post about the token and people connected to its planned distribution have distanced themselves from the project.

LAPTOP token will use airdrops and conditional burns

LAPTOP is scheduled to launch with a total supply of 1 billion tokens on Base, the Ethereum layer 2 network developed by Coinbase. Biden said the project will use several supply allocations covering community distributions, its founders and a series of predetermined events.

The community allocation accounts for 20% of the supply. Some of those tokens are earmarked for wallets that lost money holding TRUMP, alongside other groups included in the project’s planned airdrops.

Biden’s Substack subscribers were previously named among the recipients, while a mailing list associated with video journalist Andrew Callaghan’s Channel 5 was included in the original distribution plan.

Another 30% of the total supply is linked to a set of political, crypto and cultural predictions. The project has established 30 predetermined outcomes, with the tokens assigned to each event handled differently depending on the result.

If a prediction comes true, the tokens linked to it will be burned and permanently removed from circulation. Tokens attached to predictions that do not materialize will instead be sent to charity.

The initial LAPTOP launch plan included events such as a Democratic victory in the 2028 US presidential election, Bitcoin reaching another all-time high and LAPTOP overtaking TRUMP’s market capitalization.

Founders, including Biden, are allocated another 30% of the supply. Those holdings will be subject to lockups and vesting restrictions, with the initial structure placing the founder tokens under a six-month lock before they are gradually released over more than two years.

A further 20% has been set aside for areas including liquidity, exchange listings, legal expenses, administration and charitable purposes.

Biden warned prospective buyers that his involvement should not be treated as a promise of financial returns.

“You should not expect me or anyone else to make this token more valuable for you,” he wrote. “LAPTOP isn’t just about owning something, it’s about saying something.”

Hunter Biden targets TRUMP after billions in holder losses

Biden’s criticism of TRUMP comes after the presidential memecoin lost most of the value reached shortly after its January 2025 debut.

TRUMP launched days before Trump’s second inauguration and climbed to an all-time high of $73.43. By Aug. 13, 2026, the token had fallen to a record low of $1.37, representing a decline of roughly 98% from its peak.

The token briefly rallied 93% in August, climbing from $1.37 to $3.60 in 10 days before dropping sharply after wallets linked to the team transferred 2.62 million TRUMP worth $6.21 million to OKX.

Nansen data cited in July showed that 988,905 of the roughly 1.48 million wallets that had bought TRUMP since launch were holding combined unrealized losses of $3.81 billion.

Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure separately reported a $636 million payout tied to the TRUMP memecoin licensing arrangement. His total crypto-related income for the year exceeded $1 billion, with some calculations placing the figure near $1.4 billion.

Public Citizen later estimated that investors across Trump-linked crypto ventures were at least $4.7 billion underwater. Its calculation included approximately $3.2 billion in losses associated with TRUMP and another $1.45 billion connected to World Liberty Financial and Trump Media investors.

LAPTOP’s decision to allocate tokens to losing TRUMP wallets directly places the rival political memecoin inside its distribution model.

Crypto traders push back before LAPTOP launch

The planned launch faced resistance almost immediately after Biden announced the token earlier this week.

Kraken deleted a promotional social media post about LAPTOP after traders questioned why the crypto exchange was promoting another political memecoin. The exchange had not publicly said that it abandoned any potential listing plans, while the LAPTOP project said exchange listings would be disclosed when trading begins.

Callaghan separately distanced himself and Channel 5 from the project after the program’s mailing list was named as part of the planned token distribution.

The journalist said Channel 5 had nothing to do with the memecoin and did not consider crypto a legitimate investment. Callaghan said Biden had previously asked whether he could use the mailing list when launching a new product, but Channel 5 later said subscriber information was removed before an email was sent.

Base executives faced similar questions because LAPTOP is being deployed on the Coinbase-backed network.

Base founder Jesse Pollak said Biden’s project had approached the team, but the network made a “conscious decision” not to help design or promote the token. The distinction follows earlier debate over Base’s involvement with creator and content tokens, an area where Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledged in July that the network had “messed up” on content coins.

Pollak subsequently stepped back from leading the Base App to focus on the blockchain after saying demand for its earlier social products had fallen sharply. Coinbase took control of the app while Base redirected attention toward trading, payments and other financial products.

Hunter Biden turns laptop controversy into token branding

The LAPTOP name refers to the computer that became a major political issue after Biden left it at a Delaware repair shop in 2019.

Data said to have originated from the device included emails concerning Biden’s overseas business dealings, along with personal photographs, messages and videos involving his drug use and private life. The material became the subject of political attacks, investigations and online memes over the following years.

Biden has now incorporated the same episode into the identity and marketing of his crypto project, describing the token as a way to take control of something that had repeatedly been used against him.

“They turned laptop into a weapon,” Biden wrote. “I turned it into a token.”

CleanSpark produced 593 Bitcoin in August 2026 as rising Bitcoin prices improved mining revenue during the second half of the month.

The Nasdaq-listed company reported average production of 19.12 BTC per day and peak daily production of 20.40 BTC, according to its Sept. 8 update. Its year-to-date production reached 4,903 BTC.

CleanSpark ended August with 13,703 BTC, down from 13,931 BTC on July 31. The decline resulted from the company selling more Bitcoin than it produced during the month.

CleanSpark’s Bitcoin production increased during August

CleanSpark’s August output increased by seven BTC from the 586 BTC produced in July. The company achieved the increase even though its average operating hashrate slipped from 38.6 exahashes per second in July to 38.3 EH/s in August.

Its operational hashrate remained at 50 EH/s. CleanSpark defines operational hashrate as the highest computing power achieved concurrently by installed, energized and functional miners. It does not represent the average amount of capacity running throughout August.

The deployed fleet contained 201,269 machines as of Aug. 31. CleanSpark reported peak efficiency of 16.07 joules per terahash. It also disclosed 808 megawatts of maximum concurrent power use and 1.8 gigawatts of contracted capacity.

Advertisement

The 16.07 J/TH reading is a peak measurement, not the disclosed average efficiency of every operating machine. It therefore cannot be used by itself to calculate CleanSpark’s actual monthly electricity bill.

CleanSpark mining likely cleared electricity costs

Bitcoin mining economics improved during August, particularly after Bitcoin rallied during the final third of the month. Hashprice measures the revenue miners receive for each unit of computing power.

Luxor’s monthly analysis found that hashprice opened August at $31.63 per petahash per day and closed at $39.33. It averaged $34.63 for the month, its highest monthly level since May.

For mining equipment operating at exactly 16.07 J/TH, the August average hashprice produces an electricity-only breakeven price of approximately $0.090 per kilowatt-hour. The calculation divides daily revenue of $34.63 per petahash by approximately 385.7 kilowatt-hours of daily electricity consumption.

That threshold does not include employee costs, maintenance, property expenses, pool fees, depreciation, financing or corporate overhead. CleanSpark also did not disclose its average August electricity price or fleet-wide average efficiency.

Advertisement

Luxor estimated that fleets operating between 14 J/TH and 19 J/TH generated average energy revenue of about $87 per megawatt-hour during August. It estimated the industry’s average power cost at approximately $48 per megawatt-hour.

Those figures indicate that an efficient fleet could generate a positive gross margin after electricity. Since CleanSpark’s reported peak efficiency falls within that range, its best-performing machines likely cleared their direct power costs.

However, the available information does not establish whether CleanSpark’s entire mining operation produced a net profit in August. A definitive answer requires its actual power bill, average fleet efficiency and complete monthly operating expenses.

The broader industry also remained divided between profitable modern fleets and older machines operating below breakeven. Crypto.news previously reported that efficient miners remained profitable while operators using older machines and expensive electricity faced continued pressure.

Advertisement

Bitcoin sales exceeded monthly production by 228 BTC

CleanSpark sold 821 BTC during August. The total consisted of 77 BTC sold at spot prices, 500 BTC sold through call exercises and 244 BTC connected to a delta-neutral basis trade.

The company reported an average sale price of $65,420 per BTC. CleanSpark calculated that figure using net sale proceeds plus premiums generated, divided by the total Bitcoin sold. It is therefore not necessarily the simple spot-market price received for each coin.

With production of 593 BTC and sales of 821 BTC, treasury outflows exceeded new production by 228 BTC. That matches the reduction from 13,931 BTC at the end of July to 13,703 BTC at the end of August.

CleanSpark said 3,951 BTC, or approximately 29% of its holdings, were posted as collateral or recorded as receivables. All were connected to derivative transactions.

Advertisement

Its latest monthly release did not disclose the profits, losses, counterparties or maturity dates associated with those positions. The derivatives may produce premiums or hedge price risk, but they also introduce collateral and counterparty exposure.

Quarterly results do not settle August profitability

CleanSpark’s most recent quarterly financial results provide context but cannot determine its August performance. The quarter ended June 30, two months before the operational period covered by the latest update.

The company reported $138 million in Bitcoin mining revenue and $85.5 million in cost of revenue for that quarter, according to its SEC-filed results. Cost of revenue excluded depreciation and amortization.

Those figures show a positive margin between mining revenue and direct cost of revenue before other expenses. However, CleanSpark recorded a $239 million company-wide net loss. A $116.3 million Bitcoin fair-value loss contributed to that result, while payroll, professional fees and corporate expenses added further costs.

Advertisement

As crypto.news reported, quarterly revenue fell 30.5% from the previous year. The accounting loss should not be treated as evidence that every Bitcoin mined generated a negative direct margin.

Data center construction becomes the next focus

CleanSpark said construction continued at its Sandersville, Georgia, data center campus. The company associates the project with $6.6 billion in contracted revenue. That figure concerns expected revenue over the contract term and has not yet been fully recognized.

In Texas, ERCOT issued conditional batch-zero classifications covering 585 MW of contracted baseload capacity and 300 MW of studied load capacity. Conditional classification does not mean the sites have received every approval needed to operate at full capacity.

CleanSpark said it would continue working with ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Future updates should clarify the sites’ approval status, Sandersville construction and any changes to mining capacity.

Advertisement

The company’s September production report will also provide the next reading on hashrate, Bitcoin sales and treasury holdings. Its next financial filing will be needed to assess actual operating margins after electricity and other expenses.

No market-reaction section has been included because the operational release arrived at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 8, after the regular U.S. trading session. The available closing price therefore does not provide a clean reaction to the announcement.

Tether has frozen roughly $39.3 million in USDT held across 10 Tron addresses linked to Xinbi Guarantee, a Chinese-language guarantee marketplace that blockchain investigators have tied to billions of dollars in crypto transactions.

MistTrack, the onchain tracing platform developed by SlowMist, first reported the freeze, saying Tether had blocked approximately 39,273,713 USDT across the 10 addresses.

The freeze adds to a series of actions involving USDT addresses connected to guarantee marketplaces operating through messaging platforms, including Huione Guarantee. MistTrack described the latest action as another potential crackdown on illicit Telegram-based escrow platforms.

Tether freezes $39.3 million linked to Xinbi Guarantee

The balances identified by MistTrack were spread unevenly across the 10 Tron addresses. Data shared by the tracing platform showed that the largest address held about 10.78 million USDT, while three others contained roughly 8 million USDT each.

Another wallet held around 2.04 million USDT, while two addresses contained about 1.28 million and 1.17 million USDT. Three of the addresses held only 1 USDT each at the time represented in MistTrack’s data.

MistTrack’s transaction map linked one of the largest wallets, beginning with TWPma8x, directly to Xinbi Guarantee. The map showed transfers into the address from multiple wallets labeled “Guarantee Merchant,” while funds were sent onward to another Xinbi Guarantee address.

The tracing firm did not identify a law enforcement request behind the freeze in its public statement. Tether had not publicly detailed the reason for targeting the addresses at the time of the report.

The action follows several cases in which the stablecoin issuer has restricted USDT held on Tron. In June, more than $72 million was frozen after onchain investigator ZachXBT traced a wallet that had received 120.2 million USDT and moved funds through exchanges and cross-chain routes.

A month later, crypto.news previously reported that Tether had frozen USDT balances across 131 Tron wallets linked by Chainalysis to ISIS-K after U.S. sanctions authorities added more than 100 crypto identifiers associated with the group.

Earlier data compiled by BlockSec found that Tether blacklisted 4,163 addresses during 2025, freezing $1.26 billion in USDT across Ethereum and Tron. More than $514 million across 370 addresses was frozen during one 30-day period covered by the research.

Xinbi processed $24.2 billion since 2022, TRM Labs says

Xinbi Guarantee emerged on Telegram around 2022 and developed into one of Southeast Asia’s largest illicit crypto marketplaces, according to TRM Labs. The blockchain intelligence company estimates that the platform has processed approximately $24.2 billion in total transaction volume since its creation, including $12.1 billion in observed inflows since May 2025.

The marketplace primarily serves Chinese-speaking users and operates through an escrow model. Guarantee marketplaces connect merchants with buyers while providing transaction infrastructure, with crypto commonly used for settlement.

TRM Labs has linked Xinbi to scam operations, money laundering networks and cybercrime groups operating in Southeast Asia and other regions.

Earlier estimates of Xinbi’s activity were lower as investigators continued identifying transactions connected to the platform. Elliptic research published in May 2025 attributed at least $8.4 billion in USDT transactions to Xinbi since 2022 and found that its user base had increased from 119,000 in August 2024 to 233,000 by May 2025.

The investigation linked merchants on the marketplace to services used by online scammers, including laundering proceeds, fake identification documents and stolen personal information. Elliptic found that approximately $220,000 in USDT connected to the $235 million WazirX hack had passed through Xinbi Guarantee addresses.

By February 2026, TRM Labs estimated that Xinbi had processed $17.9 billion since mid-2025 alone as activity continued despite enforcement measures against Telegram-based marketplaces. Its subsequent profile of Xinbi put total transaction volume since 2022 at $24.2 billion.

Xinbi continued operating after Telegram crackdown

Telegram removed thousands of channels associated with Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee in May 2025 after blockchain researchers documented their activities.

Xinbi resumed operations soon afterward. TRM Labs found signs that the marketplace had returned to Telegram within days, while some vendors associated with Huione Guarantee and Huione Pay were active on Xinbi.

The platform later began moving parts of its operation away from Telegram. TRM Labs said Xinbi migrated toward SafeW, a messaging service, and introduced NewPay, also known as XinbiPay, as a crypto wallet that did not require know-your-customer checks.

Enforcement against competing guarantee marketplaces changed activity across the sector. After Telegram removed Huione Guarantee’s public channels, researchers found users and merchants moving to alternatives. Elliptic identified more than 30 Telegram marketplaces operating after the Huione shutdown, with Tudou Guarantee receiving a large share of the migration.

Xinbi proved particularly resistant to those disruptions. TRM Labs said its daily inflows nearly doubled in the months following Telegram’s May 2025 ban, while transaction volumes associated with Haowang, Huione and Tudou fell sharply.

Previous freezes targeted Huione-linked USDT

Tether had taken similar action against funds connected to Huione before the Xinbi freeze.

In July 2024, the issuer froze more than $28 million held in a Tron wallet that Bitrace linked to Huione Group’s Guarantee business. Bitrace subsequently reported that Huione attempted to work around the restriction by activating another address and transferring 114,800 USDC from the affected wallet.

Huione Guarantee operated as an escrow marketplace connecting vendors with customers through Telegram, with USDT widely used for payments. Researchers linked vendors on the platform to money laundering, stolen data and tools used in online scams.

Huione later developed its own stablecoin, USDH. Elliptic said the token was promoted as an alternative that could not be frozen by an issuer in the same way as USDT.

Telegram’s May 2025 action subsequently removed channels tied to Xinbi and Huione, but TRM Labs later found that both networks had begun rebuilding or moving activity to other channels and services. Xinbi’s transaction volume continued rising after those restrictions, reaching the $24.2 billion total cited by TRM Labs in March 2026.

Illinois is facing a fresh legal attempt to pause its new digital asset transaction tax before it begins in January 2027. The Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) and the Blockchain Association (BA) say they have asked a court to issue a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the 0.2% levy, arguing the tax is unconstitutional and that affected companies face immediate, irreversible costs.

In a filing reported by the trade groups on Wednesday, CCI and BA asked the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, Illinois, to prevent the state from imposing the tax while their underlying lawsuit proceeds. The groups contend Illinois has not provided adequate clarity on what exactly is taxed and when—while companies are already being forced to build compliance systems under the threat of criminal penalties.

Key takeaways

• CCI and BA have filed for a preliminary injunction to block Illinois’ planned 0.2% tax on crypto transactions before the Jan. 1, 2027 start date.
• The groups argue the tax violates constitutional protections and due process rules, and that companies face irreparable harm from near-term compliance spending.
• Illinois’ measure, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June, is structured as a “privilege tax” tied to transaction volume rather than income.
• The move escalates a legal dispute that CCI and BA began last month with a constitutional challenge, joined by other industry efforts.
• Illinois is also pursuing restrictions related to prediction markets, with separate litigation involving Kalshi and state actions targeting insider-trading concerns.

Why the injunction request matters ahead of January 2027

According to the motion described by the CCI and BA, the central urgency is timing: the tax is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, but companies say they are already being compelled to prepare for it. CCI CEO Ji Hun Kim said in a statement that firms are being asked to invest “millions” in new systems while the dispute over legality remains unresolved.

Kim’s argument, as presented by the groups, is that this creates irreparable harm because resources and employees are being diverted to compliance planning “under the threat of criminal penalties,” even though the tax’s validity is disputed. The contention is not only about whether the levy should ultimately stand, but whether the state should be allowed to proceed before a court determines the legal issues.

Blocking enforcement temporarily would matter to market participants because a transaction tax can increase operational overhead for exchanges, custodians, and other service providers, and can alter how businesses structure fee models and customer reporting. If compliance systems are built and then later ruled unlawful, the industry says those costs cannot easily be recovered.

Illinois’ crypto transaction tax: the legal theory being challenged

Illinois became the first U.S. state to single out cryptocurrency transactions with a dedicated measure, a point highlighted by the trade groups in their broader campaign against the tax.

As previously reported, Gov. Pritzker signed the legislation into law in June as a “privilege tax” as part of the state’s fiscal year 2027 budget. In this framework, crypto users would be taxed based on transaction volume rather than income, according to earlier coverage by Cointelegraph.

Last month, CCI and BA filed a lawsuit challenging the Illinois digital asset tax. The groups said the tax violates multiple legal standards, including the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois constitution, as well as federal and state due process laws. They also cited the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act in their challenge, a position outlined in the complaint linked by the groups. Earlier coverage from Cointelegraph described that lawsuit and the legal grounds behind it, including the claim that the tax improperly targets digital assets and conflicts with constitutional protections.

In Wednesday’s court filing, CCI and BA argued the state’s “basic questions” about what is taxed and when remain unanswered, while the timeline for enforcement is approaching. Their request for a preliminary injunction therefore aims to pause the practical effects of the law while the courts decide whether the measure can be enforced at all.

Industry pushback expands: why Illinois may not be the last to try

Summer Mersinger, CEO of the Blockchain Association, warned that the stakes extend beyond Illinois. As quoted in connection with the legal action, Mersinger said the state “loses very little by waiting,” while other states and market participants could suffer if Illinois’ approach is upheld. The logic, according to the association’s view, is that if the act survives legal challenges, it could become a template for other states to pursue similar transaction-based crypto taxation.

This is a key dynamic investors and builders tend to watch closely: state-level taxes can shape product design and compliance strategy across jurisdictions, especially for companies that serve customers nationally. A successful injunction in Illinois could send an early signal that transaction-tax models may face significant legal obstacles—though the outcome will ultimately depend on what the court determines about the likelihood of constitutional violations and the balance of harms.

Separately, another industry group, the Digital Chamber, filed a similar lawsuit days earlier, according to coverage summarized by Cointelegraph. While this article focuses on CCI and BA’s injunction motion, the parallel litigation suggests a broader coalition is attempting to challenge the same core measure from multiple angles.

Illinois actions beyond crypto: prediction markets litigation and restrictions

Illinois’ regulatory agenda in digital-asset-adjacent areas is not limited to taxation. The state has also targeted prediction markets through a combination of statutory and executive actions.

Cointelegraph previously reported that Kalshi filed a lawsuit against Illinois officials over a law that went into effect on July 1. That law, Kalshi said, “expressly bans sports event contracts,” and the company argued it violates federal law by effectively requiring state licensing.

In addition, Pritzker signed an executive order in April banning state employees from betting on prediction-market platforms. The stated purpose was to reduce the risk of insider trading as online prediction markets and event-based gambling contracts grow.

Together, these developments show Illinois is simultaneously addressing multiple parts of the crypto and digital finance ecosystem—taxing transactions in one lane while restricting certain market activities in another. For participants, this kind of multi-front posture can raise uncertainty about how different categories of digital finance will be treated, and whether compliance requirements will evolve quickly through court challenges.

While CCI and BA seek a near-term halt through a preliminary injunction, the most important next signal for market participants will be what the court decides about whether the case meets the standard to pause enforcement. Until then, the legal fight over the constitutionality of Illinois’ 0.2% transaction tax—and the state’s broader approach to digital finance—remains a developing risk to watch.