Darknet market activity hit new highs in 2019, as shown in a new report from blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis. Despite concerted attempts from law enforcement (LE) to crack down on darknet markets (DNMs), coupled with several exit scams, crypto inflows and outflows surpassed $800 million last year.
Also read: Monopoly Is a Tiny Darknet Market With Big Aspirations
Darknet Markets Are Recession-Proof
“What two businesses have traditionally been recession proof since time immemorial?” asks Tony Soprano in an episode of the American crime drama. “Certain aspects of show business…and our thing,” replies his consigliere Silvio Dante. Today “our thing” – namely, organized crime – increasingly takes place on the web, and the darknet in particular. Monitoring its health falls to software companies armed with the tools to analyze the flow of digital assets in and out of known DNMs.
The Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report 2020 focuses heavily on darknet markets, examining which currencies were transacted, where the coins flowed, and what percentage of crypto activity they constituted. In its wake, the inevitable “We told you so” style editorials appeared – the New York Times leading with “Bitcoin Has Lost Steam. But Criminals Still Love It.” While the data published by Chainalysis, which acts as an advisor to various government agencies, makes for interesting reading, it sends a warning to bitcoiners, whose privacy is being gradually eroded.
DNM Business is Booming
Following a modest decline in 2018, darknet market sales returned to rude health in 2019, rising from 70% to constitute over $790 million worth of cryptocurrencies. The darknet market share of all cryptocurrency received doubled from 0.04% in 2018 to 0.08% in 2019.
While giddy reports from mainstream media would have readers believing that cryptocurrencies
