It’s no secret that cryptocurrency has bolstered the pockets of many Dark Web users. Some common items use cryptocurrency as a shortcut to regulated or even illegal items.
Crypto can be used secretly to buy restricted, illegal, or immoral things. Illicit commerce is a small part of crypto-related crimes and not limited to crypto monetary transactions. Some assets are confidential, aiding illegal commerce.
Coins can still be easily obtained by purchasing semi-legal or prohibited things.
Using internet pharmacy would be the most innocent approach to violate civil restrictions. Medications that are restricted or authorized only in a certain area can be purchased using digital assets, frequently with Bitcoin or the most widely used tokens like Litecoin. In principle, anyone can easily obtain such tokens with an anonymous gift card and use them secretly.
Online grow shops and entheogen markets may require a somewhat higher level of risk. Established since the start of the cryptocurrency craze, these stores often take a fairly traditional range of coins, such as BTC and ETH, but also occasionally LTC and DOGE.
Get a taste of the digital items sold exclusively for cryptocurrency, even for regular users. The majority of vendors will only accept BTC, ETH, or USDT in return for sandwich, sniping, MEV, or other services that guarantee profitable trading automation.
Digital crime and tangible goods are also sold on dark markets.
Investigating black markets reveals a fresh range of goods whose only use may be different types of criminal activity. One of the few large-scale dark web retailers, Empire Market, revealed its strategy in a recent study from TRM Labs.
Between 2018 and 2020, Empire Market assisted in $430 million in purchases and 4 million transfers between counterparties. The merchandise chosen by the store’s owners resulted in major violations, even if the total amount was negligible in comparison to the scope of pure cryptocurrency crime.
Apart from controlled illegal substances, the shop also sold forged goods, false identification, and counterfeit money. Spyware and malware were among the digital products, along with data hauls from breaches and leaks. The authorities confiscated AlphaBay, a previously closed store, and Empire Market emerged at the perfect moment to take its place.
Following a dark market transaction, there are several chances to transfer cryptocurrency. Even after its founder, Alexey Pertsev, was arrested, Tornado Cash is still the preferred mixer. Most participants in the dark web opt for a straightforward strategy: trading through markets that do not yet require KYC. An anonymous exchange may continue to be untraceable, particularly if hidden transactions are used along with secret currencies.
Even though blockchains are usually transparent, there are situations where mixing, decentralized swaps, or other methods of covering tracks prevent all funds from being fully tracked.
One of the most traded items is leaked data
In exchange for Bitcoin payments, leaked data frequently appears on different markets. In addition to government agency data and private individual information, the databases contain cryptocurrency exchanges.
The transaction has moved to new media, like as chats, since law enforcement has targeted dark web stores. Malware and banned goods, as well as user data, can be bought over the Telegram app. The users of the platform are not hesitant to post their darknet channels and are well aware of utilizing cryptocurrency.
Using escrow services, darknet shops have emerged through the chap app. Stores sell darknet goods or counterfeit currency. A few of the busiest channels provide different software packages or accounts for sale. Payments in cryptocurrency are occasionally requested for a variety of harmful programs or schemes.
Numerous Telegram channels profit from the selling of accounts, card details, stolen logins, and other software and data. In order to enable phone or phishing crimes, channels also trade stolen stimulus checks and engage in other small-scale theft, such the resale of gift cards.
As of right now, Telegram is unregulated since its users are not subject to EU surveillance. Due to private cryptocurrency transactions, this enables previously observed locations to remain under the radar. Certain channels make use of the advertising capabilities to generate extra Toncoin revenue.
Training on numerous hacking techniques, viruses, abuses, and targeting cards is also available on Telegram channels. Although suppliers and channels that offer their exploit technology sometimes overlap, more than 50% of the channels speak Russian.
