There are some obvious consequences to the coronavirus crisis. Various businesses are being put out of business, including drug vendors on the darknet. It is interesting to note how darknet vendors struggle during the coronavirus crisis. Darknet Bitcoin Revenue is on the Decline More specifically, the people buying items from these vendors are in a...Read More
If you’ve been struggling to access your favorite darknet market lately, you’re not alone. Ongoing DDoS attacks have rendered marketplaces, forums and other onion sites inaccessible for weeks. Speculation surrounds the attacks, with some blaming law enforcement and others attributing a DDoS war between rival markets. Also read: The Darknet Just Had One of Its...Read More
According to regional reports, the Russian darknet market Hydra is planning an initial coin offering (ICO) in order to expand the marketplace internationally. The sale is set to start on December 16 and Hydra administrators hope to raise $146 million from the token sale. Also read: Regulatory Roundup – Bitcoin Futures Fund Approved, India’s RBI-Backed...Read More
Since the birth of the Silk Road, there’s been a cat and mouse game between global law enforcement and darknet market (DNM) operators. Over the last two years, law enforcement agencies have knocked out a slew of markets like Hansa and the massive Alphabay. Months later, Dream and Wall Street disappeared and online DNM communities...Read More
Over the last 24 hours, cryptocurrency enthusiasts have been discussing a transaction that saw 94,000 BTC sent to an unknown wallet. The hoopla over the large transaction shows how things have changed significantly over the last decade. Back in cryptocurrency’s early days, between 2010-2012, large bitcoin transactions like this weren’t such a big deal and...Read More
Criminals often express their favoritism toward cryptocurrencies. The perceived privacy and anonymity associated with this payment method makes for an excellent tool. In the US, the Treasury is now targeting Chinese drug kingpins. More specifically, they are monitoring Bitcoin revenue streams. That form of payment has become all the more prominent as time went by....Read More
The opioid epidemic is the new devil Bitcoin is being blamed for inflaming, to be added to the already long list of heinous crimes crypto is supposedly responsible for, like terrorism, money laundering, and trafficking. While it’s painfully clear that the U.S. dollar is a much more common tool for these unethical and illicit activities,...Read More
The US government has singled out cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin as a funding mechanism for the ongoing trend for smuggling the drug fentanyl. FinCEN Advisory Mentions Cryptocurrencies In an advisory issued on August 21, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) highlighted the use of “convertible virtual currency” (“CVC”) in facilitating the black market. According to the...Read More
The White House issued two advisories on drug purchases in the U.S. Wednesday, using the communications to make specific references to the role of cryptocurrencies in such transactions. The advisories, addressed to both financial institutions and digital payment platforms, state that “convertible virtual currencies,” particularly bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and monero, can be and have been used...Read More
The U.S. Department of Treasury has sanctioned three alleged narcotics operators and their crypto addresses. The United States Department of the Treasury has added multiple cryptocurrency addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, also known as the Kingpin Act. These addresses, and the individuals associated with them,...Read More
A man has been sentenced in San Diego, California, for conspiring to sell drugs over dark web markets for cryptocurrencies. Thirty-nine-year-old Sky Justin Gornik had pleaded guilty to using a number of marketplaces such as Alpha Bay, Trade Route, Abraxas, Evolution, Outlaw Market, and Dream Market to deal in fentanyl, carfentanil, ketamine, oxycodone, amphetamine and other...Read More
