Deep Web Roundup: 20 Years for ‘Oxymonster,’ New Darknet Monitoring Tool

Two stories stand out in our latest trawl of the deep web for news that filters through to the cryptosphere. One concerns the sentencing of Dream vendor “Oxymonster,” whose controversial prosecution on U.S. soil is part of a wider trend. We also take a look at Blocktag, a new tool for monitoring darknet sales. Also … Read more

Deep Web Roundup: Intelligence Official Charged With Selling Secrets, Disney Visits the Darknet

A French intelligence official has been charged with selling state secrets on the dark web for BTC. Also in this roundup, we look at a new threat analysis tool trawling deep web sites for certain keywords and detail a surprise namecheck in Disney’s latest movie. Also read: Banks, Money Mules and Front Companies Aid Terrorists in … Read more

Ross Ulbricht Marks Fifth Anniversary in Prison

Alleged founder of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, marked his fifth year in prison. October 1st, 2013, Mr. Ulbricht began a double life sentence without the possibility of parole for his alleged founding and running of the Silk Road online marketplace. On the occasion of his fifth full year, FreeRoss.org launched a new project to raise awareness … Read more

US Confiscates Millions in Cryptocurrencies in Alphabay Forfeiture Case

This month the US District Court of Eastern California has been very busy dealing with cases involving the infamous and now defunct darknet marketplace the Alphabay. The Federal courthouse in Fresno just recently wrapped up the forfeiture case involving the alleged Alphabay leader Alexandre Cazes. Further, the Fresno courthouse has charged and have plans to … Read more

Security Specialist Wizsec Gives Insight on the Billion Dollar BTC Wallet

The bitcoin security specialists Wizsec has recently explained to the public that the wallet that held more than 111,000 BTC did not derive from the Silk Road marketplace, and it’s also not one of the Mt Gox wallets. Further Wizsec detailed today that a recent article had quoted the organization by cherry-picking quotes which in … Read more

Government-Funded Drug Trafficking Makes USD the World’s Dirtiest Currency

Pablo Escobar. Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán. Rick Ross. Household names, each and every one of them; drug lords collectively responsible for punting billions of dollars’ worth of narcotics. Yet their crimes pale in comparison to those their prosecutors have been perpetrating for years. After decades of fueling proxy wars and trafficking, the US government has … Read more

The Darknet Cat and Mouse Game: Law Enforcement Gains More Traction

Since the dawn of the Silk Road and the myriad of darknet markets (DNM) that followed, it’s been a cat and mouse game between law enforcement and DNM vendors and users. Also read: Proof-of-Stake is a Rebranded Version of the Old Financial System Operation Bayonet For a while, after the Silk Road was taken down it … Read more

$800M BTC Wallet Reactivates: Tens of Millions to Exchanges

Speculation has been swirling around a BTC wallet held dormant for over four years that is suddenly showing movement. That it contains something on the order of nearly one billion dollars worth of bitcoin core (BTC) has the ecosystem in both investigative mode and panic, as it could signal a giant dump at the very … Read more

Storing a Lot of Bitcoins in One Wallet Is a Bad Idea

Interest has piqued in a bitcoin wallet that’s lain dormant for four years. This week’s movement of the funds it contains, worth close to $850 million, has sparked intense debate over whose address it might be. Regardless of which whale holds the rights to it, the wallet’s very existence demonstrates the drawbacks of holding a … Read more