Tom Robinson

Chief Scientist & Co-founder @ Elliptic. Join us:

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

A huge marketplace for online scammers, with links to the ruling family of Cambodia - check out this 90-second summary of our recent research

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@HTX_Global https://t.co/KMSYVYrLK8

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@myselfbitcoin @HTX_Global Clarification:
https://t.co/KMSYVYrLK8

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

HTX has been sanctioned by the UK
@HTX_Global

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@myselfbitcoin @HTX_Global The designation specifies "HTX Exchange"

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@swapzilla_io @HTX_Global quite a lot

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

Russia-related:
https://t.co/y3kBSJoMOP

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

https://t.co/K4esFCTG6s

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

Vast Telegram-based guarantee marketplaces are key enablers of online scams. They rely on stablecoins for money laundering totalling hundreds of billions of dollars. In a new article for @RUSI_org (link below) I call on @telegram and @tether to step up and do more to combat this.

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@durov Great job Pavel, now how about shutting down the $21B sanctioned fraud marketplace that you host? The one that enables money laundering, human trafficking and scams - and causes untold misery for millions globally. Or would that be bad for business?
https://t.co/uFvyeXxmGK

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

@elliptic @telegram @WIRED Telegram has taken action! By banning UK @telegram users from accessing Xinbi... 😕 So probably the bare minimum they think they need to do to comply with the UK sanction, while doing nothing to address the underlying issue...

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

It's 3 weeks since Xinbi was sanctioned. @Elliptic data shows that the scammer's marketplace has now facilitated over $21Bn in transactions. Meanwhile @telegram, which could shut it down with the press of a button, continues to turn a blind eye...
https://t.co/uFvyeXxmGK @WIRED

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

Crypto outflows from Iran spiked 700% in the minutes following the first airstrike.
Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange, also saw withdrawals surge on 16th and 30th January - days on which the U.S. announced new sanctions against regime officials.
https://t.co/Pk3yS7OgOF

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

Were seeing increased use of crypto for sanctions evasion by Iran, Russia, NK. Please DM me if you have any tips/intel relating to this topic.

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

New research: Iran’s Central Bank has purchased US dollar stablecoins worth at least half a billion dollars, likely used to evade sanctions and support the rial
https://t.co/DZjnCuToLe

[tanuki42 @tanuki42_]

1/8 I was taking a look at this research from @elliptic and noticed something interesting. It seems that the same entity who is selling USDT to the Central Bank of Iran 🇮🇷 is also buying USDT from groups laundering on behalf of DPRK 🇰🇵

[ZachXBT @zachxbt]

@Pnlpal Read more about it here in this piece by @elliptic

https://t.co/j7W83O7hpf

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

New crypto sanctions on the eve of the Trump/Putin talks - targeting Russian use of stablecoins for sanctions evasion. Including: A7/Old Vector (issuers of A7A5 Ruble stablecoin), Exved (cross-border payments with USDT) and Grinex (Garantex successor)
https://t.co/qLrwBgLhs6

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

$90 million stolen from Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex and burned by pro-Israel hacker group
https://t.co/7Veuaw1vnW

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

In the mean time, Elliptic's data and the transparency of cryptoassets produced insights have led directly to the two largest illicit marketplaces of all time to being shut down. This is a major victory for anyone who has been targeted by online scams.

[Tom Robinson @tomrobin]

What next for online criminal markets?
Xinbi and Huione thought Telegram was a safe home. This turned out not to be true, and may spur the development of decentralised, censorship-resistant comms - alongside the censorship-resistant payments of crypto.
https://t.co/m7aJ5hUOSJ