Its history—$600M trades pre-2017 bust, relaunched in 2021, and 25% listing growth in 2025—shows resilience. Alphabay’s top-tier status stems from its scale, reliability, and advanced features, though peak-hour lag slightly tempers its rank. The return or influx of cybercriminals to dark web forums is expected to intensify competition among these resources.
How Much Is Stolen Data Sold For On Darknet Markets?
Response times average 12 hours, with a 92% shipping reliability rate—disputes occur in 3% of transactions, resolved in 48 hours for 87% of cases, backed by a 93% escrow success rate. Vendors like “DoorMed” and “TechBit” maintain 96% ratings, supporting its speed-focused approach, though its vendor pool trails Torrez’s scale. ASAP’s 1,000+ vendors support its 25,000+ listings, rated 4.5/5 across 35,000+ reviews, with drugs (60%), digital goods (20%), and fraud tools (15%) leading its catalog. Response times average 14 hours, with a 93% shipping reliability rate—disputes occur in 2% of transactions, resolved in 36 hours for 90% of cases, backed by a 94% escrow success rate.
Dark Web Statistics By Largest Marketplaces
Blacksprut, which rose to prominence with Mega in the wake of Hydra’s 2022 sanctions designation, law enforcement seizure, and subsequent collapse, came in third with 13.6% less revenue YoY. Select BTC for speed (e.g., Bohemia), XMR for privacy (e.g., Incognito), or USDT for cost (e.g., ASAP). XMR’s 40% adoption in 2025 cuts tracking risks—BTC’s blockchain exposed 15% of trades in 2024. Kaspersky DFI researchers observed more than 11 hacktivist movements and various actors across the region. The region has seen an increase in these threats due to the current geopolitical situation, which is likely to continue to rise if tensions do not ease.
Sellers like “ViceRx” and “PillMaster” hold 97% ratings, offering solid drugs with 93% shipping reliability, though stock runs low 5–10% of the time due to its niche. Vice City’s 18,000+ listings trail Alphabay’s 60,000, but its 80% drug focus keeps it deep there, with prices 10% below multi-category markets thanks to seller rivalry. Its $2.5M monthly haul shows a dedicated base, though sticking to BTC and XMR limits its pull for some privacy chasers. STYX Market, for example, concentrates on financial crimes, offering access to hacked bank accounts, forged documents, and money laundering services.
Spread Your Trades
They usually accept cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, which keeps transactions secret. There are no visible ads or trackers, and the design is often very simple. Vice City Market offers 18,000+ listings with a 5% share and $2.5M monthly turnover.
Only 67% Of Tor’s Daily Users Engage In Illegal Activity On The Dark Web
Their DeadDrop system and wallet-less payments mean no one’s running off with your cash—perfect if you’re paranoid like me after a bad deal once. Listings aren’t public, but it’s steady as heck with 2FA and top-shelf encryption. They’re hinting at going decentralized in 2025—less downtime, more trust, right in line with the decentralized trend.
Abacus Market
Cryptocurrency-enabled drug sales also grew by over 19% from 2023 to 2024, reaching nearly USD 2.4 billion in volume. 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. The evolution from IRC to Telegram represents more than just a shift in tools, it signals a transformation in how cybercrime infiltrates daily digital life.
Beyond Tor: Other Dark Paths
This area comprises websites and content that are purposely kept hidden from public view. The Tor project gained notoriety for enabling illegal marketplaces like the Silk Road, a black market taken down by the FBI in 2013—and countless cybercriminal service providers ever since. Still, the Tor dark web browser also remains a vital tool for privacy-conscious users. The Tor browser, short for The Onion Router, is software that allows users to access the Tor network.
Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) even govern some of these markets. Such models ensure that the market remains community-controlled and resilient to outside interference. Geopolitical tensions will likely fuel the rise of hacktivism and ransomware in the Middle East. Hacktivist attacks have already evolved from denial-of-service operations to data leaks and critical compromises, a trend expected to grow. Ransomware groups are anticipated to split into smaller, independent units, making them harder to track. Such decentralization, along with the reuse of leaked malware source codes, will allow new, low-skilled actors to enter the ransomware ecosystem.
Wallet-less payments and multi-signature deals make it a safe bet—I’ve never worried about getting burned, even after a close call with a dodgy vendor once. You can find everything from weed to fake cash to hacking gear, and it’s got a solid rep with a $15 million valuation floating around forums. They take Bitcoin and Monero, and their multi-signature escrow system keeps deals safe. What I like is their no-fentanyl rule—shows they’re trying to keep things less messy.
Improved Security Protocols
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. Dark web marketplaces provide a wide selection of malicious products, including stolen credentials and hacking resources, alongside the more traditional malware and ransomware products. While Telegram is a supplement to dark web markets’ activities, individuals will always be inclined to the dark web as an avenue to prop up anonymous exchange of illicit goods, malware, and data. This anonymity is very appealing for buyers and sellers, many of whom are experienced cybercriminals, and some low-level actors. For cyber threat teams, investigators, or any other interested individuals monitoring emerging threats, watching dark web marketplaces should not be optional, but a must in 2025.
- Valued at approximately $15 million, Abacus Market is one of the most lucrative platforms in the dark web ecosystem.
- While it might be tempting, remember that downloading such content has serious legal and cybersecurity risks.
- In 2025, the darknet trading world shows grit and fresh ideas, adjusting to challenges like law enforcement moves, tech leaps, and changing user tastes.
- They use unique addresses that end with .onion, which are not available on search engines.
Those who use these services can still be traced and prosecuted if caught, especially as law enforcement continues to sharpen its tracking tools. Imagine trusting a site where you’ve been buying or selling for months, and everything seems legit. Some marketplace operators first build trust by running a legitimate platform. They sell these files for just a fraction of the original cost on the surface web or even share freely, which makes them tempting for people looking for shortcuts.
