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Why Are All the Darknet Markets Down?
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ON JULY 20th law-enforcement agencies across the world announced that they had taken down two “dark-web” marketplaces, AlphaBay and Hansa. These websites, accessible only via a browser that ensures anonymity, are used to peddle drugs, guns, hacking services and countless other illicit products. But despite this sizeable setback for the dark web, recent history suggests that successor sites will take their place. According to CipherTrace research, there has been at least one notable darknet market launched every month on average since early 2019. As it stands, DarkMarket and White House Market appear to be the largest darknet markets in the Western world with over 300,000 customer accounts each. White House Market saw a 40% increase in users between August 27 and September 28, following the exit scam of Icarus, and a further 8-10% increase between late September and October 20.
The darknet markets, also known as the “dark web,” are a part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and is inaccessible through standard web browsers. These markets are often used for illegal activities, such as buying and selling drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods. However, in recent months, many of the major darknet markets have gone offline, leaving users wondering why.
Because some of the categories had low numbers, which would likely affect the classifier’s performance, when training the classifier, we manually added eight listings to the “Tobacco” category and six listings to the “Cosmetics” category. Table 2 shows the resulting distribution (after manually adding listings) of the labeled categories for the randomly selected subset of counterfeits. However, estimating counterfeit goods’ trade (value) is difficult and is mostly achieved through auditing goods seized at borders (OECD, 2018; OECD/EUIPO, 2019).
Technical Issues
An established form of transnational organized crime, DNMs combine anonymisation networks and cryptocurrencies with encryption technologies. They are distinct from independent single-vendor shops that also sell illicit drugs, and from other types of fraud stores. Starting in or about November 2015, Pavlov is alleged to have operated a company, Promservice Ltd., also known as Hosting Company Full Drive, All Wheel Drive and 4x4host.ru, that administered Hydra’s servers (Promservice).
One possible reason for the darknet markets going down is technical issues. The darknet is a complex and decentralized network, and maintaining a marketplace on it can be challenging. Technical glitches, server crashes, and other issues can cause a market to go offline temporarily or permanently. Additionally, the darknet is often targeted by law enforcement agencies, which can lead to the seizure of servers and the shutdown of markets.
Regulation and Law Enforcement
Interestingly, the rise of social media as an emerging drug market has also impacted purchasing trends. Self-reported data suggests that social media platforms have become favourable for low-level transactions of cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, whereas new psychoactive substances are still sold to a greater degree via the darknet. As encryption, anonymity and privacy are central to the design of the darknet and its various drug buy drugs darknet markets, up-to-date information on drug trends is difficult to come by. Analysis from the World Drug Report 2023 suggests that whilst the average buyer is spending more on drug transactions (rising from $100 per transaction in 2018 to $500 in 2021), the number of active buyers and transactions have notably decreased. Perhaps one of the most well-known functions of the darknet is its hosting of large-scale drug markets.
We noted that many keys were created long before White House Market went online, some almost 7 years earlier. Although we cannot trust the creation dates of the public keys, this could be an indication that those keys were also used elsewhere. Figure 7a shows the graphs of dark market sites the cumulative numbers of created user accounts and PGP keys. We can also clearly see an increase of user account creations on the marketplace in August and September 2020. Tor users can anonymously access either the clearnet or services within Tor called onion services.
- DoS attacks on a market might be conducted by an individual demanding ransom, by admins of a competing market who want to diminish competition, or even by law enforcement who want to destabilize these criminal enterprises.
- Since its first survey in 2011, Global Drug Survey(GDS) has been exploring the growth and impact of darknet drug markets.
- The re-evaluation of the indicators applied in the questionnaire, taking statistical aspects into account, could help create a database suitable for running more robust parametric tests and developing models.
- This operation to seize the AlphaBay site coincides with efforts by Dutch law enforcement to investigate and take down the Hansa Market, another prominent dark web market.
Another possible reason for the darknet markets going down is increased regulation and law enforcement. In recent years, there has been a crackdown on darknet markets by law enforcement agencies around the world. This has led to the arrest top darknet sites of many market administrators and vendors, as well as the seizure of large amounts of drugs and other contraband. As a result, many market operators may have decided to shut down their operations to avoid detection and prosecution.
Competition
Competition may also be a factor in the darknet markets going down. The darknet market scene is highly competitive, with new markets opening and old ones closing all the time. As a result, some markets may have been forced to shut down due to lack of business or being outcompeted by other markets.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are several possible reasons why all the darknet markets are down. Technical issues, regulation and law enforcement, and competition are all possible factors. However, it is dark market list also possible that the markets will eventually come back online, as the darknet is a constantly changing and evolving ecosystem. Only time will tell what the future holds for the darknet markets
How many users does the darknet have?
Even more so alarming is that this number is on the rise, as of April 2023 this figure rose 200,000 to 2.7 million daily Dark web users,” the report noted. Those most familiar with the Dark Web are those from BRICS countries – amounting to 28 per cent of those who cited being familiar with it.
