The specter of the deep web looms large over everything bitcoin does. You won’t hear it mentioned by VCs funding blockchain startups, or by options exchanges applying for bitcoin ETFs, but the darknet is the reason we’re all here. A periodic glance into the latest from the deep web provides an insight into the underbelly where bitcoin first bloomed, and where a significant proportion of cryptocurrency purchases still occur.
Also read: Giant Bitcoin Merchant Bank Posts Losses Over $130 Million
From Reddit to Dreaddit
Ever since Reddit’s r/darkmarkets was shut down, Deepdotweb.com has been the main source of news for purveyors of the darknet. The site has been behaving erratically of late, with European visitors getting an error message when attempting to visit the site. Whether this is the result of a temporary glitch or some sort of GDPR-instigated perma-ban, which has caused other US-based sites to exclude Europeans, is unknown. For all the good work Deepdotweb does in covering darknet activity, it is unhealthy to rely on a single, centralized source of news. All it would take is for authorities to covertly infiltrate the website and they could start controlling the news cycle and funnelling users to honeypot darknet marketplaces.
Thankfully, there’s now an alternative source of news pertaining to the deep web’s major marketplaces. Dread, which resides at dreadditevildot.onion, is Reddit’s r/darknetmarkets reborn, and this time accessible only via Tor. As members of the forum would agree, discussing their business over the deep web, where IPs cannot easily be traced, is in the best interests of everyone. Dread features several boards, with d/darknetmarkets its most popular, with over 13,000 subscribers.
75% of Dream Vendors Take Bitcoin Cash
Acceptance of bitcoin cash has grown significantly
