Fraudsters create fake versions of popular darknet sites to trick users into entering login details or personal data. If you fall for it and log in, they immediately steal your credentials and either sell or use them for other scams. Many people go to the dark web to buy things they can’t find elsewhere, but what if what you’re buying is also trying to harm you? Scammers on darknet markets claim to offer legit tools or services, but instead provide you with malicious software that can infect your device. Some vendors offer services to help people “clean” illegally obtained funds using cryptocurrency and fake transactions.
Global Darknet Marketplaces Market Share 2022, By Volume
The markets often share materials related to child exploitation, pornography, and non-consensual recordings, all of which are serious crimes that inflict lasting harm on real-life victims. Such content fuels a dangerous cycle of abuse, violence, and exploitation. We also publish VPN research and advice to help protect your internet privacy and security. Unit prices on the dumps work out at tiny fractions of a penny each to account for the risk that most won’t be accessible or even valid. This is four times the cost of high-end grocer Ocado (£4) for example, while Tesco accounts are least appealing, priced at less than a £1 each. We are also currently seeing more hacked bank accounts for sale that have high balances, giving criminals access to thousands of pounds instantly.
Darknet Markets Generate Millions In Revenue Selling Stolen Personal Data
Our regional data reveals that most people buying stolen credit card data on UNICC are from North America (after Global), while most of those selling it are from China. While it’s difficult to say exactly why that is, it’s possible that more criminals from China have the technological proficiency to steal credit card data. Cards go for anywhere from $2 to $15, with the average sitting at about $10.
The darknet is a high-stakes environment where anonymity is paramount, scams are a risk (30% of links in 2025), and law enforcement looms. Our top 10 markets—processing $50M+ monthly—offer robust platforms, but user diligence is key. These tips, sourced from darknet forums, user experiences, and platform best practices, address common pitfalls (e.g., phishing, vendor fraud) and optimize your trading—saving time, reducing risk, and enhancing returns. Below, we detail 10 comprehensive strategies to master onion marketplaces in 2025. Vice City uses AES-256 with PGP, optional 2FA adopted by 50% of its 9,000+ users, and basic DDoS protection for 92% uptime. Its 94% escrow success rate resolves disputes in 48 hours for 88% of cases, reliable for its drug focus but lagging in advanced security features.
Illicit Activity On Dark Web
Essentially, these payment processors provide a white label service for darknet markets and fraud shops, and a seamless checkout experience for those services’ customers. UAPS, shown in the chart above, is one such example of a payment processor that many fraud shops, including the OFAC-designated Genesis Market, used in 2023. The value received by UAPS in this chart includes payments sent to multiple fraud shops using the service as a payment processor. With many dark web marketplaces coming and going, finding a safe and reputable platform is more important than ever. In 2025, only a few markets stand out for their security, reliability, and vendor quality. Tor2door’s been a standout since 2020—over 20,000 listings and a custom-built site that’s not some cookie-cutter junk.
Its 28,000+ listings don’t match giants like Alphabay, but its quality focus delivers a polished experience—top sellers like “ElitePharma” and “CodeMaster” hit 99% ratings, offering rare finds you won’t see elsewhere. That premium angle means prices run 10–15% above high-volume markets, but users say the goods are worth it. Abacus leans hard on its payment protection system, hitting a 98% success rate—one of the best we’ve tracked—keeping deals smooth between its 15,000+ users and 1,200+ sellers with few hiccups. Ninety percent get sorted within 36 hours, thanks to a focused moderation crew and a clear process that puts user confidence first.
User Familiarity
Telegram’s creeping into the darknet scene—not full markets, but vendor channels. I’ve stumbled on groups pushing everything from scripts to gear, often linking back to spots like Tor2door. Monero’s my go-to for dark web payments because it’s darn near impossible to trace. With tricks like ring signatures and stealth addresses, it keeps your transactions off the radar—unlike Bitcoin, which can leave a trail if you’re not careful. Along with the aforementioned factors, international cooperation is key to success in these operations. For example, the takedown of Monopoly Market was coordinated by Europol and involved authorities from nine different countries.
Shuttered Dark Web Marketplaces
ASAP’s payment system scores a 94% success rate, clearing 90% of disputes in 36 hours—solid for its size. Its Tor routing keeps a 93% uptime, with dips linked to adding new currency options, not outside hits. Currency use is its highlight—BTC leads at 50% for speed, XMR takes 30% for privacy, USDT’s 15% cuts fees by 20% versus BTC, and LTC’s 5% keeps it light. This multi-currency move, started with USDT in 2023, drops trade costs, making ASAP a budget-friendly pick in the anonymous trade world. Its 15,000 listings pale next to Alphabay’s 60,000, but its deep pharma range, updated weekly to match demand, makes up for it. That 10% drug trade share beats out many larger names, cementing its hold on this high-value corner of the hidden web.
Dark Web Statistics FAQ
They are predominantly accessed via the Tor network, which ensures anonymity for both buyers and sellers. Torrez’s payment system scores a 95% success rate, clearing 90% of disputes in 36 hours—strong for its size, backed by a 20-person moderation team. Its Tor routing holds a 94% uptime, with rare pauses tied to seller onboarding spikes, not attacks, showing solid tech.
- It lacks 2FA, a gap criticized post-2024 leak, but basic DDoS protection maintains 92% uptime.
- DrugHub popped up in 2023 and quickly hit 15,000 listings—all drug-related.
- It claims to control more than 7,000 bots from 190+ countries, with data prices ranging from $3 to $10, based on the quality it offers.
- On average, each active market in 2019 collected more revenue than those active in any other year, apart from during the height of Silk Road’s heyday in 2012 and 2013.
- Monero (XMR) offers untraceable transactions, cutting tracking risks—BTC’s blockchain exposed 10% of trades in 2024, dropping its use from 80% to 60% in 2025.
- Early participants may see some profit, but that money usually comes from new victims, not actual earnings.
Chainalysis data shows darknet marketplace revenue dropped post-Hydra seizure in 2022 but recovered to $2 billion in Bitcoin inflows during 2024 Darknet market BTC inflow drop and shift to Monero. Abacus alone represented nearly 5 per cent of total DNM revenue, underscoring the ongoing scale of underground commerce. Archetyp Market was dismantled in June 2025 during Operation Deep Sentinel in a coordinated raid across six countries. At the time, it had over 600,000 users, 17,000 listings, and approximately €250 million in transactions.
- This marketplace specializes in a variety of illegal products, including drugs, counterfeit documents, and hacking tools.
- However, anonymous browsers are banned in China, while Russia and some other countries actively block their citizens from using them.
- 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.
- Yes, the Dark Web exists as a small subset of the Deep Web — part of the internet that isn’t indexed by search engines and thus isn’t publicly available.
While this is great for protecting a country, the problems arise since hackers can do the same thing. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Though Mega Darknet Market typically serves a Russian customer base, the drug revenue shown in the chart above likely came from customers based in Europe. Mega clearly dominated the realm of wholesale drug purchases, capturing 51.9% of that segment. We can only hope that the current largest and oldest markets will retire with honor.
Top 10 Darknet Markets Of 2025
Regardless, UAPS remains a key provider of payment infrastructure to top fraud shops. Another darknet market known for facilitating fentanyl sales to the United States was Canada-based AlphaBay. A once-sizable illicit enterprise that began in 2014, AlphaBay was closed by authorities in 2017 and then reopened in 2021.
Tor2door Market
If you’re planning on selling anything on Dream Market, it’s easy to create an account, and Dream Market will take 4% of all your earnings as a commission fee. The site is nicely laid out, there are a few categories to explore, and it’s quite a quaint experience. By logging and reverse searching your IP address, they can locate and identify you. This means they could infect your computer with malicious software; they could steal your personal details like your bank information, or even directly drain your account. Even before the German police shut down CyberBunker, they had glimpsed inside its blue book.
