During the same period, the number of newly launched darknet marketplaces declined 42% year over year — indicating that while the ecosystem is consolidating, remaining actors may be becoming more operationally advanced. Community consensus and users close to the Abacus team ruled out an FBI operation as a likely reason, leaning more towards an exit scam explanation for the sudden takedown of the platform. In 2022, Abacus was used by 10% of the users on Western darknet markets.
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No, black market websites operate illegally and pose high risks of scams, fraud, and law enforcement action. They use pseudonymous wallets, privacy coins (like Monero), mixers, chain-hopping, and non-KYC platforms to obscure transaction trails. Here are some of the now-defunct dark web markets that were notorious for cybercrime. WeTheNorth is a Canadian market established in 2021 that also serves international users. With over 40,000 product listings and valued at around $15 million, it’s a sprawling marketplace and go-to destination for drugs, counterfeit items and cybercrime tools.
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More likely, suggested TRM Labs, is that Vitro saw what happened to previous market leader Archetyp, and decided to cut and run before Abacus also drew the scrutiny of police and prosecutors. It’s possible that Abacus went offline due to law enforcement activity, although there’s been no word yet from any such authorities. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said that users of Abacus Market began reporting withdrawal issues in late June. Another theory is that administrators may have voluntarily left the market due to increased regulatory scrutiny.
Abacus’s exit follows the June 16, 2025 law enforcement seizure of Archetyp Market, marking the latest in a series of shutdowns in the Western DNM ecosystem. In what concerns user deposits, TRM Labs reports that the platform received last month an average of $230,000 per day, across 1,400 transactions. While an exit scam is the primary suspicion, other explanations have been proposed. Its share of the Bitcoin-supporting Western dark market ecosystem also spiked to over 70%, following ASAP’s closure and the law enforcement seizure of Incognito Market in March 2024. This market offers a variety of goods and services, including drugs, weapons, counterfeit documents, and other illegal goods. Transactions are typically conducted using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Monero, ensuring secure and anonymous payments.
- When navigating Abacus Market, users can find an extensive range of products, from digital goods to drugs and counterfeit items.
- The vendor accepts BTC and XMR, and analyzing its on-chain exposure to regional CEXs and DNMs reveals that it serves customers worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Russia.
- Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a dangerous tool causing a stir on the dark web and within
- Join millions, easily discover and understand cryptocurrencies, price charts, top crypto exchanges & wallets in one place.
About Abacus Darknet Market
We do not operate Abacus Market or any darknet service. Follow all security recommendations in the Darknet Bible and never reveal personal information. Never trust search engines for darknet links.
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Users can browse and purchase various illicit items, making these marketplaces a hub for unlawful activity. These platforms sell everything from drugs and fake IDs to weapons and hacking tools, resembling a digital black-market bazaar. The first category includes classic marketplaces, which serve as one-stop shops for a wide range of illegal goods. The dark web marketplaces are mainly defined into two categories. Yet, several marketplaces managed to retire gracefully over the past few months. Luckily, the dark web community has no shortage of information on everything you need to know about the darknet markets.
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At the time of writing, there has been no confirmation from law enforcement. However, the possibility of a silent law enforcement operation hasn’t been entirely ruled out. TRM Labs observed that deposits on the site fell sharply in early July—from $230,000 per day across 1,400 transactions to just $13,000 per day spread over 100 transactions.
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Investigators are currently monitoring secondary wallet movements, but so far, the funds remain unrecovered. TRM Labs’ analysis traced several large transactions from Abacus-controlled wallets to obfuscation layers via popular mixing services, making the BTC harder to recover or track. By the time users realized what was happening, the operators had already siphoned off tens of millions in BTC—roughly 1,700+ coins—through a complex network of mixer services and cold wallets. Editor-in-Chief at Coinpaper, scaling data-driven editorial ops, SEO-led discovery, and audience-first storytelling across crypto, AI, and fintech. Don’t miss out and join our newsletter to get the latest, well-curated news from the crypto world! Analysts further proposed that administrators may have voluntarily left the market, fearing increased scrutiny from regulators.
- That’s the Abacus difference—built by devs who live the darknet, not just code it.
- Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reported that both Abacus Market’s dark web and clearnet infrastructure are now inaccessible, a likely exit scam by its operators.
- Never trust search engines for darknet links.
- In one major operation, U.S. agencies dismantled BidenCash, a platform that sold over 15 million stolen credit cards and credentials, generating more than $17 million since 2022.
- Abacus Market, one of the largest remaining darknet drug marketplaces catering to Western users, has suddenly disappeared, triggering widespread speculation of a deliberate exit scam.
- We do not operate Abacus Market or any darknet service.
As a result, law enforcement has adopted an intelligence-led enforcement strategy incorporating DNM takedowns into longer-term investigations rather than treating them as end goals. But when a vendor is arrested, their activity is disrupted across every DNM they operate on. Furthermore, after four years of operating and generating substantial profits, the admins likely lost motivation to continue and chose to exit the ecosystem to preserve their freedom and financial gains. Faced with the decision between profit seeking and self preservation, Abacus’s admins likely chose the latter in light of Archetyp’s seizure and the surge in new users that elevated Abacus’s profile.
Darknet marketplaces are facing increased scrutiny from coordinated global enforcement. Whether it’s tighter surveillance, further shutdowns, or a shift toward decentralized darknet tools, Abacus may be the domino that triggers broader collapse in the West’s illicit digital markets. In one of the biggest darknet shutdowns of the year, Abacus Market has gone dark, triggering alarms across crypto and cybersecurity communities. TRM Labs analysts observed that this pattern aligns with typical exit scams, similar to how Evolution Market and other darknet sites previously disappeared. In 2024, Abacus accounted for 70% of Western darknet platforms accepting Bitcoin.
As the Fear and Greed Index value holds at 12, the market sentiment lingers at extreme fear. Shubham Sahu is a crypto journalist and writer with extensive experience covering blockchain technology, digital currencies, and AI. Nevertheless, the police could have clandestinely taken Abacus as they constructed cases against users and operators, but this is not confirmed. The arrest of Archetyp Market and the increasing number of users raised the profile of Abacus, which was an ideal target of the authorities. Deposits per day dropped to only $13,000 in July compared to $230,000 at the beginning of June as people lost trust and abandoned the platform. Withdrawal issues were initially reported by users in late June, and the site administrator attributed the problem to the entry of new users and hacking.
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Monero remains the preferred cryptocurrency due to enhanced privacy features, unlike Bitcoin, which leaves traceable public ledger records. Never trust forum-posted URLs without independent verification—always cross-check with trusted Abacus darknet repositories. Abacus Market links frequently change to avoid DDoS attacks and law enforcement interference. To verify the abacus link, use a special window on the website. Before purchasing the product, review the vendor's background Our Market Updates page details recent changes, including new vendor verification processes to combat scams.
