Specifically, we collected approximately 248,359 unique listings and 1,138,961 unique forum traces (ie, threads of posts) from 10 anonymous online marketplaces and 6 forums. We then identified 311 opioid keywords and jargons to recognize 28,106 listings and 13,508 forum traces related to underground opioid trading activities. Finally, we used natural language processing techniques to extract opioid trading information to characterize underground opioid commodities, suppliers, and transactions.
Single-vendor Drug Darknet Markets
Archetyp launched in May 2020 and quickly grew to become one of the most popular dark web markets with an estimated total transaction volume of €250 million (A$446 million). It had more than 600,000 users worldwide and 17,000 listings consisting mainly of illicit drugs including MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine. As when visiting ordinary websites, stay alert to security risks on onion sites. Don’t click on suspicious links, be skeptical of what you read, and avoid dark web marketplaces if you don’t want to stumble on illegal activity or content.
The only way to access the dark web is by using the correct browser and knowing the URLs of the pages you want to visit. Scroll on to learn more about dark web links (also called Tor links or onion sites), get the right links for some of the best Tor sites, and find out how to visit them safely. Mega provides an automated exchange service and a built-in wallet to process cryptocurrencies. To further attract buyers of drugs from other underground communities, the actors behind the Mega frequently organize “Black Friday” discounts to stimulate the sellers, by doing so offering lower commission rates from their sales.
What Are Darknet Markets?
It’s a market for fake documents, hacking software, and financial fraud services. WeTheNorth has a strong community vibe, with an active forum where users interact and share updates. Beginning in September 2021, Abacus Market has established itself as one of the leading dark web marketplaces. After AlphaBay closed, Abacus Market took its place as the world’s largest underground darknet marketplaces. Abacus Market quickly rose to prominence by attracting former AlphaBay users and providing a comprehensive platform for a wide range of illicit activities.
Drughub excels in pharmaceutical dark pool trading with 15,000+ listings and $2M monthly via BTC. Serving 8,000+ users and 600+ vendors, it holds a 10% share of drug commerce—an emerging force since 2023. As observed in our data set, the opioid suppliers in the marketplaces Evolution, Pandora, and Silk Road accepted escrow as a method of payment. In fact, the shutdown of the marketplace Evolution was discovered to be an exit scam, with the site’s operators shutting down abruptly to steal the approximately US $12 million in bitcoins that it was holding as an escrow 39.
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As mentioned earlier, launching a cyberattack doesn’t require any hacking skills. Even people with zero technical knowledge can buy phishing kits, ransomware, or stolen logins. While you could find all sorts of products on Silk Road, drug sales quickly became prevalent because of the profits it raked in. In fact, by 2013, a Guardian article revealed that about 70% of listings were drug-related. Imagine trusting a site where you’ve been buying or selling for months, and everything seems legit. Some marketplace operators first build trust by running a legitimate platform.
Conclusion- Which Is The Best Of These Darknet Drug Markets?
While the above-mentioned examples of interventions effectively reduced the volume of the darknet drug trade, the policy recommendations presented above were designed to be implemented among potential customers. Since some users purchase on the darknet because they do not want to risk a personal meeting with dealers, darknet markets extend the range of potential users (Pergolizzi et al., 2017). While these users might be deterred from purchasing drugs, the effectiveness of influencing the risk perception of actual darknet market customers who may be addicted drug users is questionable. Furthermore, deterring drug users from the darknet could lead to them buying drugs on the streets, which could be more dangerous from a health perspective. Cannazon Market is a niche darknet market that specializes in cannabis products. It has a user-friendly interface and a wide range of strains and edibles.
Dark Web Marketplaces
- Abacus Market appeared on the scene in 2021 and quickly became one of the heavyweights among English-speaking markets on the dark web.
- In 2025, 95% of markets prefer XMR over BTC’s public ledger, with transaction volume up 60% since 2023.
- These hackers don’t hide in the shadows as much as you might think.
- Anonymous online marketplaces are usually platforms for sellers and buyers to conduct transactions in a virtual environment.
This extra privacy makes it much harder for authorities to track down who runs these markets and where they are located. For these reasons, most of these stores naturally like the dark web due to its protection. So, what even is this dark web, and why are these marketplaces present there? We’re back with another video in our Webz Insider video series on everything web data. Cybersecurity experts should pay close attention to these trends, as they often indicate emerging threats and profit-generating tactics among the cybercriminal forums.
CISOs Brace For Supply Chain Attacks With Proactive Attack Surface Monitoring
While people and organizations do host legitimate and useful sites on the dark web, it’s still best to tread cautiously. Despite Tor’s privacy-focused design, malicious entities are more likely to target your data in transit and on .onion sites. Using Tor to access dark web links isn’t illegal, but your ISP will notice, and others may too. It’s, ironically, more conspicuous than using popular browsers and sites. TorLinks serves as a backup or secondary directory site to the popular Hidden Wiki. It’s divided into commercial links (from crypto services to gambling sites) and non-commercial links (like social media).
Prioritize Escrow
- I try to provide the best products and service I can, when someone has a problem or claims their order was short on pills (as long as they have ordered from me before) I usually take them at their word.
- From innocent and bespoke items and bulk wholesale produce to illegal drugs and information like a stolen car or bank details, the Dark Web markets and marketplaces are easily one of the biggest draws and taboo subjects of the network.
- Is an English and Russian language marketplace that seems to have captured many of Hydra’s former vendors and consumers.
- Platforms that provide clear guidelines for maintaining operational security (OpSec) and offer built-in tools for data obfuscation are especially favored.
- One of the things STYX is infamous for is having a rigorous verification process for users that makes it seem more exclusive.
- The markets often share materials related to child exploitation, pornography, and non-consensual recordings, all of which are serious crimes that inflict lasting harm on real-life victims.
N 2025, dark web websites frequently change domains and are often short-lived. Accessing them may require .onion links and the Tor browser, but caution is advised due to legality and cybersecurity risks. Active for a decade since 2014, it is a widely used credit card shop used to source stolen credit card information such as dumps, CVVs, Wholesale Accounts. Security researchers have been monitoring forums within the cybercriminal underworld to investigate the leading markets operating in 2024. Some fake sellers take your crypto and never ship what you ordered, or phishing sites that look like real marketplaces but steal your login info. And then there’s malware—click the wrong link or download the wrong file, and your device could get infected.
Regulators Say Binance Must Tighten Money Laundering, Terrorism Rules
In exploring the top 10 dark-web marketplaces in 2025, we’ve examined their core operations, diverse use-cases, inherent risks, and evolving trends. While these marketplaces continue to serve legitimate purposes, such as enabling secure communication and privacy protection, they also remain hotspots for illicit activities and cybercrime. Technological advancements like AI-driven security, quantum-resistant encryption, and blockchain integration are reshaping the landscape, but simultaneously, global enforcement efforts grow more sophisticated and collaborative.
Shortly after the breach, these records appeared on dark web forums, where they were sold to malicious actors aiming to exploit customers through targeted scams and phishing attacks. Alphabay Market was originally operating from 2014 to 2017 with alpha02 and DeSnake as admins and was the biggest darknet market in history. It was suspected as an exit scam; however, a few days after it had gone offline, it was revealed that AlphaBay had been seized and alpha02, aka Alexander Cazes, was caught. Like RuTor, BlackSprut also offers cash-out services, including Bitcoin-to-Ruble and C2C transactions.
Unlike Bitcoin, which records every payment on a public ledger, Monero conceals all transaction details by default, which makes them nearly impossible to trace. What this means is, in most cases, the admins/owners of these websites are also the sole vendor on the markets. Also, these markets generally accept more types of Cryptocurrencies than single-vendor markets. Furthermore, these markets also offer more security features than single-admin markets. Because of the escrow, the sellers or the buyers can not scam each other.
Some even have connections to criminal organizations and, in more serious cases, government-backed operations. Purchases through links on our pages may yield affiliate revenue for us. We review and list tools and products without bias, regardless of potential commissions. Established in 2022, WizardShop is one of the biggest data stores on the dark web, focusing mainly on carding and financial data. STYX Market focuses specifically on financial fraud, making it a go-to destination for cybercriminals engaged in this activity. It has a bidding feature, with new batches of stolen data being frequently added.
