# Underground Related Articles

HTX News Center provides the latest articles and in-depth analysis on "Underground", covering market trends, project updates, tech developments, and regulatory policies in the crypto industry.

$20 for a Face: The Underground Business of Crypto KYC

Crypto KYC Bypass: A $20 Underground Industry Despite stringent KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements from major crypto exchanges, a thriving underground market exists to bypass these checks for as low as $20. Users often face geo-blocks or lengthy verifications, preventing access to services. This has fueled demand for illicit KYC services. Reports indicate over 500,000 participants in underground KYC markets, with more than 1 million listings selling verified profiles from platforms like Coinbase and Kraken. These accounts often include real personal data, sometimes without the original owners' knowledge. Fraud techniques have evolved, including deepfake attacks (up 2000% in three years), screen-based spoofing, and AI-generated fake documents. The virtual currency sector is the primary target, accounting for over 78% of KYC attacks. An investigation into a Telegram-based KYC vendor revealed a TRON address with over $59,000 in USDT from 600 transactions over two years, all eventually transferred to an OKX hot wallet. An interview with a KYC service provider, "Maoli," who operates in Chinese-speaking regions, detailed the process: clients pay for accounts verified by "foreigners" recruited globally, often from lower-income regions, who perform the KYC steps for a small fee. These accounts are sold with warnings against holding large funds due to fraud risks and potential reclaiming by the original identity owners. Maoli described the business as a "three-way win": users gain access, exchanges get user numbers, and he profits. However, this ignores the victims of identity theft whose data is used without consent. The KYC system, while intended for security, functions as a permeable barrier, with a vast shadow economy ensuring access for those willing to pay.

marsbit03/30 07:36

$20 for a Face: The Underground Business of Crypto KYC

marsbit03/30 07:36

Underground Argentina: Jewish Money Houses, Chinese Supermarkets, Slacking Youth, and the Impoverished Middle Class

Argentina is experiencing a state of hyperinflation and economic collapse, where the official currency, the peso, has become nearly unusable. The black market exchange rate has reached 1 USD to 1,400 pesos, yet prices for basic goods remain shockingly high, even for those holding foreign currency. A significant portion of the population, especially the youth, has adopted a "live for the moment" mentality, spending their wages immediately as savings become worthless. Poverty rates are high, and real wages have plummeted. The country’s real financial system operates underground, dominated by two key players: a network of over 13,000 Chinese-owned supermarkets that act as cash collection points, and Jewish-owned informal exchange houses (cuevas) that manage black market dollar transactions. This shadow economy allows businesses and individuals to bypass strict currency controls, high taxes, and a collapsing official banking system. Cryptocurrency, particularly USDT, is used not as a technological innovation but as a practical tool for wealth preservation and tax avoidance, especially among freelancers and the upper middle class. However, those who remain in the formal economy—the “rule-followers”—suffer the most, as their peso-denominated incomes collapse in value while living costs soar. President Milei’s radical reforms have brought some fiscal stability and reduced inflation, but at a great social cost. Yet, much of the public still supports the changes, hoping to break Argentina’s cycle of economic crises. Through it all, the informal systems—cash transactions, black market exchanges, and a general distrust of the state—continue to sustain daily life.

深潮12/08 06:16

Underground Argentina: Jewish Money Houses, Chinese Supermarkets, Slacking Youth, and the Impoverished Middle Class

深潮12/08 06:16

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