How Cryptocurrencies Are Used in the Dark Web

 When a new field of activity appears, criminals are often the first to appreciate all its advantages. This is what happened with crypto. Before virtual money was used in DeFi and other areas, it was widely used to sell illegal goods. And the most common way to find and access platforms with illegal goods was the crypto calendar, where users could track the latest news and select certain platforms and types of cryptocurrencies for illegal activities.

The negative attitude towards bitcoin is often associated with the ways it is used in criminal activities. With the help of a crypt, you can make transactions anonymously, and centralized financial institutions are not involved in the transfer of funds. Therefore, not so long ago, marketplaces on the Dark Web with cryptocurrencies payment methods increased exponentially. In addition to the "Silk Road" known to many, there were other projects. It is what this article is about.

Atlantis

This Internet platform with access through peer-to-peer networks was considered a competitor of the Silk Road. But it worked less than all other similar projects. Bidding for illegal drugs started in March and ended in early autumn 2013. Notable in the history of this site is only the fact that it was allowed to make payments not only in bitcoins, but also in other coins.

Unlike the Silk Road, law enforcement officers did not have a hand in stopping the activities of Atlantis. The site administrators simply stopped maintaining their resource due to the risk of identity disclosure. However, in fact, the reason could lie elsewhere. There is an opinion that the administration decided to take away the crypt of registered users.

Agora

Another alternative trading platform is Agora. It was launched in 2013, and the site could only be accessed through the Tor browser. The platform gained fame after law enforcement officers stopped the activities of the Silk Road. All users who purchased illegal drugs on Silk Road quickly found a new place for themselves.

Agora was quite popular. According to experts, in total, goods worth more than $200 million were sold through the site. The marketplace in the Dark Web functioned until 2015. Due to a vulnerability discovered in the peer-to-peer network protocol, there was a danger of revealing the founders. Therefore, its creators, rightly fearing arrest, covered up their offspring.

Cryptocurrency-based marketplaces on the Dark Web keep popping up and disappearing. But this does not mean that only criminals need bitcoin or other crypto. New digital money on a decentralized ledger is just a tool. If you use it in the right way — it can bring good money. And without violating the current legislation.

Bitcoin on the Dark Web

A study by The Block portal showed that bitcoin is used for payment on almost all trading platforms available on the Dark Web. For analysis, 49 of the 85 illegal sites from the Chainalysis report were taken, those that were functioning at the time of the study were checked. So 48 of them accept payments in Bitcoin.

Monero and Litecoin took the second and third places in terms of popularity. The high use of XMR is due to the anonymity of this cryptocurrency, but at the same time, another confidential cryptocurrency, Zcash, only circulates on 4 Dark Web trading platforms.

Conclusion

Since in many countries cryptocurrency is not regulated by the state at the legislative level, many platforms and marketplaces on the Dark Web use crypto as a payment method. However, users of prohibited resources should remember that sooner or later the state will be able to expose any network and gain access to all data, including people using the services of prohibited platforms. If today the platform does not feel any pressure from the state, this does not mean that they are not being followed. Therefore, we strongly do not recommend using the services of platforms and the marketplace on the Dark Web.