Darknet Users Discuss the Connection Between DDoS Attacks and Exit Scams

During the last few weeks, a number of darknet markets (DNMs) like Dread and Empire have been attacked relentlessly with heavy DDoS attacks. Meanwhile, reports disclose that Apollon is allegedly pulling an exit scam in the same fashion as Nightmare Market did last year. Darknetstats.com details that Apollon remains online and is accepting bitcoin deposits … Read more

New Chainalysis Report Sheds Light on Darknet Markets and the Need for Onchain Privacy

Darknet market activity hit new highs in 2019, as shown in a new report from blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. Despite concerted attempts from law enforcement (LE) to crack down on darknet markets (DNMs), coupled with several exit scams, crypto inflows and outflows surpassed $800 million last year. Also read: Monopoly Is a Tiny Darknet Market … Read more

Cypherpunk Bitstream Hosts Share Importance of Payments, Dropgangs, and ‘Meatspace’ Allies

The Cypherpunk Bitstream podcast is a relatively new program that’s just released its fourth episode. The hosts, known as Frank Braun and The Real Smuggler, are so-called ‘privacy extremists’ and dyed-in-the-wool crypto-anarchists concerned with exposing cypherpunk ethos to a wider audience. Braun and Smuggler took time out recently to discuss their journeys to crypto-anarchy, the … Read more

Monopoly Is a Tiny Darknet Market With Big Aspirations

There’s a certain irony in the smallest market on the darknet being named Monopoly. With less than 150 listings, the monero-friendly Monopoly Market is anything but. What this tiny darknet market (DNM) lacks in size, however, it makes up for in spirit. The cypherpunk ethos permeates this nascent market where sovereign individuals can exercise their … Read more

White House Market Wants to Become the Darknet’s Toughest DNM

White House Market (WHM) is an ultra-secure darknet market (DNM). It disallows Javascript, enforces PGP throughout, admins key sign every 72 hours, and only accepts monero (XMR). It might be the darknet’s most private market. But do its vendors deliver? News.Bitcoin.com dusted down some XMR and decided to find out. Also read: How to Encrypt … Read more

How Dropgangs and Dead Drops Are Transforming Darknet Practices

Since the creation of the Silk Road, authorities have waged a war against the online drug trade with a wave of surveillance and enforcement. However, crypto-anarchists are developing new ways to evade the state’s tentacles as the next technological phase started to emerge in late 2017. On Monday, the Cypherpunk Bitstream podcast discussed the evolution … Read more