In 2019, there were approximately 8,400 active sites on the dark web, selling thousands of products and services daily. These sites cater to cybercriminals seeking valuable data, such as credit card numbers, login credentials, and personal information. Today’s cybercriminals spread their activities across multiple platforms, making them harder to track and shut down.
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All these conditions theoretically support the anonymity and safety of the business. The mandatory barring of leaving houses for people during the COVID-19 disaster limited the supply of drugs in Russia. We do not have monthly data on drug poisoning, but we found significant correlations with this variable in yearly data.
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In the face of increasing law enforcement activities, cyber criminals are increasing their security accordingly rather than exiting the cybercrime business. Today (June 16, 2025), Europol announced the successful dismantling of Archetyp Market, the longest-running darknet drug marketplace, following a sweeping international operation coordinated across six countries. From June 11 to 13, 2025, law enforcement authorities in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the United States executed a series of synchronized actions targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, top vendors, and core infrastructure. Approximately 300 officers were deployed to secure digital evidence, seize assets, and arrest key suspects.
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These vendors are known for their expertise in utilizing black box algorithms developed by the team at asap. These algorithms are designed to cater to the needs of those seeking fraud, narcotics, and digital services on the dark web. Much of this progress can be credited to sophisticated techniques that investigators now use to trace cryptocurrency wallets and mixers, so that payments exchanged in dark web markets and other criminal enterprises can, in some cases, be effectively traced. For example, two months ago a Russian national was arrested in Arizona for allegedly deployed LockBit, Babuk, and Hive ransomware. Law enforcement was able to track him through cryptocurrency transfers to wallets that were linked to his name, then forensics law enforcement was able to link those transfers to his verified identity for his Bitcoin wallet and capture him. The increased law enforcement activities of the past year are changing the landscape of cybercrime—one of the dark web trends about which we can all be happy.
Back in 2020, this Russian-speaking marketplace was the world’s biggest darknet market. Worse yet, it was the largest marketplace for illegal drugs in all the countries of the former USSR. In April 2022, local authorities took down Hydra’s Germany-based servers and seized $25 million in Bitcoin.
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While it received a relatively small share of large retail purchases as shown in the previous chart, Abacus Market is one such example. Though many customers are concentrated in Australia, Abacus has vendors and customers around the world, including the United States. Mega Darknet Market is the dominant drug supply source for drug vendors on other darknet sites, holding a 63.4% share of that market.
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Beyond battling for brand credibility, Eastern DNMs have predictably splintered along war-time allegiances between Russia and Ukraine. Chainalysis also noted that some markets are openly advertising their wares in Russia, with giant 3D billboards (Kraken Market) and QR codes on subway trains (Mega Darknet Market). She is particularly interested in the reform of drug legislation, subcultural drug use and harm reduction initiatives.
Official Statistics Data
- Darknet markets are constantly evolving and adapting to new challenges and opportunities.
- Only four Russian-language DNMs left the approximately 20-strong ecosystem in 2024.
- Unless there is a plausible connection between WayWay and Solaris, the teams running them entered a direct conflict right before the start of 2023.
- Another way to gauge people’s interest in the Dark Web is to examine the percentage of those who look up the term “Dark Web” on Google.
This ensures that transactions remain untraceable, providing a layer of security unmatched by traditional online platforms. Additionally, many markets now integrate PGP encryption for communication, further safeguarding sensitive information. As these markets continue to grow, they are likely to incorporate even more sophisticated features, such as AI-driven recommendations and enhanced security protocols.
For example, during the Russian-Ukraine conflict, citizens used dark web versions of social media to share information when traditional access was blocked. This marketplace has originally appeared from an underground community (forum) which connects buyers and sellers of illicit drugs. The actors behind the possible attack on Blacksput threatened the administrators with the leakage of their identities, as well as to reveal sensitive operations between buyers and sellers. Likely, they used similar tactics, and were able to successfully phish some number of Blacksprut users. In both cases, this activity is coming from cybercriminal or semi-criminal elements, which are likely driven not just by their personal interest, but the direction from a third-party.
We implemented Spearman correlations analysis to find and measure levels of associations between darknet marketplace and official health statistics variables. We recognize that there may be a temporal lag between the sale and distribution of drugs under certain conditions. Nonetheless, we also considered the inertial nature of the trends and processes in the pharma market when deciding to implement this strategy with this minor design flaw. Ransomed forum was a project of the RansomedVC ransomware-as-a-service operation, a group who gained attention in September after claiming to have hacked Sony. Allegedly aimed at actors looking to join the ransomware scene, Ransomed appeared on the dark web in October 2023, with more than 200 members joining the board in the first weeks.
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Adding to this layer of security and anonymity is the use of cryptocurrency to make transactions on the darknet. The site’s infrastructure, including its clearnet mirror, went offline without warning or the typical law enforcement seizure banner. According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, the sudden disappearance aligns with common patterns seen in exit scams, where marketplace operators disappear with funds held in escrow.
In his spare time, he enjoys experimenting with healthy recipes, practicing yoga, meditating, or taking nature walks with his child. Barry’s goal is to make complex tech information easy and accessible for everyone. The dark Web is the World Wide Web, which requires authorization and configurations of specific software to access. If you suspect illegal activity is happening on the dark web, you can report it to the authorities. When you access a website on the clearnet, your information travels directly from your computer to the website’s server.
