Abacus Market, the grand poobah of Western darknet bazaars, decided to take a permanent vacation earlier this month. Blockchain sleuths at TRM Labs are pretty sure it was an exit scam, which is a fancy way of saying the bosses ran off with everyone’s money. 🏃♂️💰
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the darknet, the cops nabbed the folks behind Archetyp Market on June 16. This latest disappearance from Abacus is just another chapter in the wild, wild West of the darknet. Users were already having trouble getting their hands on their hard-earned bitcoins, and the market’s admin tried to calm the waters, but it was like trying to stop a leaky boat with a Band-Aid. 🛥️🌊
Abacus, which burst onto the scene in 2021 and quickly became the go-to place for all your questionable needs, raked in nearly $100 million in bitcoin sales. But now, with the market’s sudden shutdown, the future of other platforms like DrugHub and MGM Grand looks as shaky as a house of cards. 🏦🃏
TRM Labs points out that the heat from law enforcement is changing the game. Instead of big, flashy takedowns, the cops are focusing on nabbing individual vendors, which is pushing more users to set up their own little shops and communicate through encrypted platforms. It’s like the darknet version of going off the grid. 🛠️🔒
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2025-07-15 12:57