A number of sites contained a range of pornography involving children, violence and animals, and others provided hacking tools, weaponry or hit men for hire. In 2016, two researchers studied activity on the DarkWeb to find out exactly what goes on there. They identified about 5,200 sites, of which almost half (48%) were apparently inactive and containing no content.
DarkMarket had almost 500,000 users, more than 2400 sellers and more than 320,000 transactions. They are popular with criminals, because buyers and sellers are largely untraceable. Websites are only accessible with specialised identity-cloaking mechanisms, and the sites are often hosted over multiple encrypted servers to avoid further detection.
How The Darknet Markets Deliver Its Goods To Buyers In Australia
Without vendors, darknet marketplaces cannot operate or generate profits, making them a more strategic enforcement target. Explaining why methamphetamine is so much cheaper when sourced via a local cryptomarket vendor as opposed to a street dealer will require further research. Abacus Market was launched in 2021 and now lists over 40,000 illicit goods, including hacking tools, counterfeit documents, and listings for drugs. In 2024, it recorded on-chain revenue of $43.3 million, a 183 per cent increase, driven by vendor migrations post-shutdown of competitors, according to Chainalysis’ 2023 market report Darknet revenue in 2023.
It supports operations in multiple languages and operates on both clearnet and Tor. Established in 2019, Russian Market is a well-known and highly regarded data store on the dark web, specializing in the sale of PII and various forms of stolen data. Despite its name, the marketplace operates primarily in English and serves a global audience. It has gained a reputation for being a reliable source of high-quality data for cybercriminals. Its focus on financial fraud and high-value transactions has attracted a dedicated user base, contributing to its growing reputation and market value.
Exchanging Of Non-digitised Goods Like Drugs Must Offer A Weak Link?
I’ve been poking around these places for a while now, from the giants like Abacus to the old-timers like Vice City. This isn’t just a quick list; it’s the full scoop on what they offer, how they keep things tight, and why they’re worth your time—or not. Whether you’re new to the dark web or a vet who’s seen it all, you’ll find something here to chew on. Below, I’m breaking down each market with everything I’ve picked up—listings, quirks, the works.
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Abacus Market launched in September 2021 as Alphabet Market, before rebranding in November 2021. Although it served a global audience, it particularly focused on the Australian market, incorporating Australian cultural references into its marketing and recruiting an Australia-dedicated moderator. Abacus offered a wide range of illicit drugs, including stimulants, dissociatives, psychedelics, opioids, benzodiazepines, prescription medication, unlicensed pharmaceuticals, and cannabis-related products. Unlike competitors, such as Archetyp, DrugHub, ASAP Market, and Incognito Market, Abacus operated as a central deposit wallet, multisignature DNM that supported both Bitcoin and Monero. In late June 2025, users began reporting withdrawal issues with Abacus Market, which typically indicates an impending exit scam. The marketplace’s administrator, known as ‘Vito’, responded on darkweb discussion forum Dread, claiming an influx of Archetyp users and a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack were the reasons for the issues.
- Darknet users have to install specialised software that uses countermeasures such as cryptography so it makes it hard for people to trace them.
- The site’s unique—loads fast, looks sharp, and vendors get treated right, keeping turnover low.
- In the interim, many in the DNM community will assume the marketplace performed an exit scam and continue their activity on other platforms.
- Furthermore, following Archetyp’s law enforcement seizure in June, 2025, many of its users flooded Abacus Market, leading to the latter’s largest ever monthly sales volume of USD 6.3 million in June 2025.
- Purchasing or selling illegal goods—such as controlled substances, counterfeit documents, or stolen data—can result in significant legal penalties, including fines, criminal charges, and imprisonment.
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Dark-web marketplaces operate through encrypted networks, primarily utilizing anonymity-enhancing technologies such as Tor (The Onion Router) and I2P (Invisible Internet Project). These technologies obscure users’ identities and locations by routing their internet traffic through multiple volunteer-operated servers worldwide, making it extremely difficult to trace activities back to individuals. Tor remains the most prevalent method due to its ease of use and robust anonymity features, but the popularity of I2P is steadily growing due to its increased resistance to surveillance and censorship.
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Dark-web marketplaces attract sophisticated cybercriminals adept at launching phishing scams, malware attacks, or ransomware threats. Buyers and sellers frequently face risks from malicious actors posing as legitimate vendors or customers, potentially leading to financial loss or exposure of sensitive personal information. Abacus Market has emerged as one of the most reputable and widely used dark-web marketplaces in 2025.
Dark Web Marketplaces
Shipping drugs internationally from Australia doesn’t carry as much risk as you would think, Dr Martin says. “Despite what we see in the news about an epidemic, there’s not really that many ice users in the country,” Dr Martin said. “Our drugs tend to be quite expensive in the international sense, so they’re not really competitive when we look at it compared to Europe or the United States.” Australia owns a sizeable chunk of the narcotics market on the dark web, according to new research released by the Australian Institute of Criminology. By subscribing, you consent to the AFP sharing your details with our service provider, Swift Digital, for use in relation to this service. Swift Digital may collect personal information which may contain email addresses and other information to be used to send you media statements related to your subscription preferences.
Stick to cryptocurrency, avoid downloading anything, and don’t share any personal info. Ransomware and cryptocurrency-based crimes saw a significant increase in 2023, with a nearly $176 million rise compared to 2022. Telegram channels supplement traditional onion sites, blurring lines between the dark web sites and more mainstream communication tools. Today’s cybercriminals spread their activities across multiple platforms, making them harder to track and shut down. ANU has a huge variety of support services, programs and activities to enhance your student experience. Your donation will make a real difference to our community of researchers and students.
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Founded in early 2023, shortly after major law enforcement operations shut down several competing platforms, Abacus quickly filled the void by prioritizing reliability, advanced security, and user anonymity. Experienced users typically prefer marketplaces with robust vendor rating systems, detailed feedback options, and transparent dispute resolution processes. Platforms known for consistently resolving issues and eliminating fraudulent vendors quickly gain credibility and user loyalty. These findings indicate that the prices of Australian darknet drugs are much more closely correlated to local street prices than they are to those sold by foreign vendors. Only methamphetamine was significantly cheaper when purchased from an Australian cryptomarket vendor compared to a local street dealer, with prices approximately 45% lower when sourced online. Australian cryptomarket vendors sell a wide variety of illicit drugs, and are disproportionately represented in global terms for sales of ecstasy, opioids and, particularly, methamphetamine.
Range Of Available Products
Launched after the takedown of AlphaBay in 2021, Abacus Market has rapidly risen to prominence. It features over 40,000 listings including narcotics, counterfeit items, hacking tools, and stolen data. The marketplace is well-known for its bug bounty programs and robust security mechanisms, including mandatory 2FA. It has built a reputation for being a reliable source of stolen credit card data and PII. Renowned for its extensive inventory of financial data and sophisticated operating methods, Brian’s Club is a key player in the underground economy of financial cybercrime.
