Europol shut down one of the longest-running blacknet markets, the prototype market, but blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said the market is very adaptable to closure.
Europol explain On Monday, it closed down the main infrastructure of the prototype market in the Netherlands through a series of raids involving six countries.
During the raid, the main prototype personal and technical infrastructure was targeted, which was arrested in Spain by a German national’s alleged administrator, Europol also said they also arrested a moderator and the website’s six largest suppliers in Germany and Sweden.
Such dark-based online markets rely on cryptocurrencies for trade, while prototypes use privacy-centric tokens Monero (XMR).
The market has been in operation for five years, and Europol said it would take “to record financial processes, including years of intensive investigations” to evacuate the site and its so-called operators.
The dark web market has fallen, but no
Despite increased law enforcement efforts, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs explain In a report on Monday, even as dark web platforms declined, “the ecosystem remains highly adaptable” Vendors set up shop on app For example, telegrams and signals.
“These peer-to-peer models provide faster turnaround times, reduced costs and lower risk of platform evacuation, complicating law enforcement efforts,” TRM Labs said.
After closure in 2022 Russian Hydra MarketTRM Labs said it was a new Russian market and replaced it almost immediately.
It added: “Although some Darknet operators, especially some in the Western Darknet market, have historically tried to rebrand or exit scams after the law enforcement action, a comprehensive reconstruction seems to have become less common.”
The prototype can be comparable to the Silk Road
Europol said the original type had a user base of more than 600,000, with a total transaction volume of at least 250 million euros ($287 million) and over 17,000 listings, most of which were used to sell illicit drugs, including cocaine, MDMA, MDMA and Amphetamines.
It is also one of the few dark web markets that allow elfentanyl and synthetic opioids to be sold.
“The platform’s endurance, scale and reputation within the crime community place it alongside the now-extinct Darknet markets like Dream Market and Silk Road, all notorious for promoting online drug trafficking,” Europol said.
Dark Internet Market Operators’ Strategy to Escape the Law
TRM Labs says law enforcement is Successfully removed the Darknet platformbut their operators are using strategies such as pseudonym domain registration to quickly rebrand after falling down and laundering. Encrypted exchange Escape the law.
Related: Telegram closes “the largest Darknet market ever”
“The removal of the original market suggests that law enforcement agencies may even undermine the most entrenched illegal platforms, supported by advanced blockchain intelligence,” TRM Lab said.
“But the resilience and evolution of these networks emphasizes the need for ongoing cross-border collaboration, technological innovation and real-time monitoring to stay ahead of the next generation of DarkNet threats.”
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