Based on our observations from analysis on dark web data using Lunar, we’ve identified the top 7 marketplaces on the dark web in 2025. We developed Lunar to monitor the deep and dark web, including dark web marketplace sites. Market URLs change rapidly nowadays on the dark web, to escape malicious hacking by blackmailers. This exposes users to risk as it is simple to copy a site’s code, host a fake version of it, circulate URLs online and steal users’ passwords to the official sites – and then steal their bitcoins. Launched in 2023, STYX focuses on financial crime, providing stolen credit card data, hacked bank accounts and access to various cryptocurrency laundering tools.
The Shift Toward Smaller, More Niche Markets
And when it comes to paying, the site sticks to Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR) to keep transactions private. The dark web is designed in such a manner that it hides the identities and locations of its visitors. 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.
2 Thematic Clusters Based On Keyword Co-occurrence
Interviews with merchants and consumers are a crucial part of understanding the mechanisms of the Internet market 5-8. Studying illicit drug circulation and its effects on population health is complicated due to the criminalization of trade and consumption. Illicit drug markets have evolved with IT, moving digital to the “darknet.” Previous research has analyzed darknet market listings and customer reviews. Research tools include public health surveys and medical reports but lack neutral data on drugs’ spread and impact.
Why Dark-Web Drug Marketplaces Can Be A Refuge
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, can be used as a means of payment on the Darkweb, and the value of these cryptocurrencies can fluctuate significantly. The use of cryptocurrencies in the Darkweb has been the subject of recent studies. These studies have examined the facilitative factors that enable Bitcoin-related crimes on the Darkweb, such as the anonymity of cryptocurrencies and the lack of regulation in certain jurisdictions 76. Other studies have explored the ethical implications of using cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes and the potential for regulation to address this issue 77. Research on currency substitution in the shadow economy, which includes the Darkweb, has also examined the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional fiat currencies 78. This research has used local Bitcoin trade volume as a proxy for adopting cryptocurrencies in the shadow economy and has found evidence of currency substitution in some cases.
Why Brand Monitoring And Threat Intelligence Are Stronger Together: 15 Key Benefits
The patterns revealed in this analysis are not static; they can shift over time due to changes in drug supply, law enforcement efforts, and societal attitudes. Continued monitoring is essential to ensure drug policies remain responsive to the current situation. Advanced data visualization techniques, such as interactive maps and correlation matrices, depict complex relationships between the darknet drug trade and health outcomes. Substances other than cannabis are widely used worldwide, as shown by the ”grams without cannabis“ column. Evidence of a varied drug market includes the prevalence of substances other than cannabis in quantities that outweigh cannabis alone. The distribution of the supply of opiates by regions of Russia is more concentrated in the European and southern parts of the country.
Recognize & Report Crime
- It was a resource-heavy operation, involving hundreds of separate investigations by five EU and US agencies.
- With so much money floating around these sites — dealers can make good money without leaving home — some vendors try to game the review system.
- After that, an opioid buyer often leaves review comments under the product listing or discusses the purchasing experience in the forum (step 12).
- One defendant in California led an organization that bought fentanyl in bulk, pressed it with methamphetamine into pills and sold millions of them to thousands of people on the dark web, he said.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in collaboration with Europol, the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Team, and various national and international partners, announced the results of Operation RapTOR May 22.
- Monero and Bitcoin are two of the most commonly used digital currencies on the dark web markets.
Note that we determined if 2 listings are identical by matching the same elements (ie, listing’s title and description information and the vendor’s name) in 2 listings. We observed that the marketplaces of Agora and Evolution shared 530 opioid listings from 290 unique supplier IDs. The opioid commodity with most listings across different marketplaces was #4 White Vietnamese Heroin, which can be found in the marketplaces Agora, Evolution, Hydra, and Pandora.
Another study found that international collaboration was positively correlated with the number of citations received by a research paper 54. 2 represents the growth of publications in the field of Darkweb over 11 years from 2012 to 2022. The number of total citations is growing faster than the total publications.
Many people go to the dark web to buy things they can’t find elsewhere, but what if what you’re buying is also trying to harm you? Scammers on darknet markets claim to offer legit tools or services, but instead provide you with malicious software that can infect your device. This can include everything from full names, email logins, and passwords to credit card details, social security numbers, and bank account information. The cybercriminals trade even sensitive documents, such as medical records, passport information, and driver’s licenses.
Market Features
In 2012, there were 28 publications with eight citations, while in 2022, there were 169 with 2352 citations. So, the doubling time of publications is 3.67 years, and the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is 10%. We observe that post-2015, when SDGs were adopted, publications and citations nearly doubled 51. The data suggests that the field of Darkweb research has grown and become more established over the past decade, with an increasing number of researchers conducting and citing research on the topic.
They sit on an encrypted part of internet called “Tor Hidden Services” where URLs are a string of meaningless numbers and letters that end in .onion, and are accessed using a special browser called “Tor”. And, of course, think twice before sharing too much personal details online. 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. But these efforts of law enforcement don’t go in vain; hackers and criminals lose trust if a website or marketplace goes down. While you could find all sorts of products on Silk Road, drug sales quickly became prevalent because of the profits it raked in.
STYX Market
Valued at approximately $15 million, Abacus Market is one of the most lucrative platforms in the dark web ecosystem. In 2024, the platform grew significantly in popularity, partly because of its strategic acquisition of users from a number of recently shut-down marketplaces, such as AlphaBay and Incognito Market, which had recently closed their doors. To expand their reach, some marketplaces established parallel channels on Telegram. This further complicates monitoring efforts because now you need to search for the related Telegram channels and track activity there and on the marketplace itself.
Catching Criminals On The Dark Web
Most of the arrests were made in the U.S., which is in the grips of an overdose crisis. Synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined. These background papers were commissioned by the EMCDDA and Europol to provide background information to inform and contribute to the drafting of the main report.
These included an advanced encryption program known as “Pretty Good Privacy” and a cryptocurrency called Monero. Unlike Bitcoin, which records every payment on a public ledger, Monero conceals all transaction details by default which makes them nearly impossible to trace. We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here.
Central to this effort is the use of advanced blockchain intelligence tools, which provide critical insights for tracing illicit transactions, identifying threat actors, and supporting enforcement actions. The progress made in disrupting illicit networks demonstrates the impact of collective action, but sustained vigilance and adaptability — empowered by cutting-edge blockchain analytics — will be essential to securing the crypto ecosystem in the years ahead. Over the last year, the online illicit drug trade has continued to decentralize away from darknet markets and towards encrypted chat and social media platforms. This trend, already prevalent in Western communities, has been increasingly seen in the Russian-language ecosystem as well.
