Darknet Market Revenue Tumbles After Global Crackdowns: Chainalysis

Darknet market and fraud shop revenues dropped by 50% in 2024, according to blockchain analytics platform Chainalysis. While overall crypto crime hit record highs, drug and fraud-related inflows dropped sharply due to global crackdowns and enforcement efforts.

The report notes that darknet marketplaces received over $2 billion worth of Bitcoin on-chain, while fraud shops took in approximately $225 million. However, trends vary by country, and vendors on dark web markets have also adjusted their on-chain behavior.

Russian Darknet Markets Show No Decline Despite Global Downtrend

While sales on darknet markets (DNMs) have declined globally, Russia-based DNMs continue to thrive. The illicit drug trade still dominates Russian markets, even as many DNMs worldwide shift toward offering services like:

• money laundering, 
• stolen data, 
• malware sales.

In 2024, Kraken DNM (not to be confused with the popular crypto exchange Kraken) outperformed Mega, becoming the leading darknet marketplace by annual revenue. Kraken is considered the successor to Hydra Market, whose founder, Stanislav Moiseyev, was sentenced to life in prison in December 2024.

Kraken DNM received $727 million in on-chain revenue in 2024, a 68% increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, Mega’s revenue fell by around 50%.

Darknet Vendors Adapt Their On-Chain Tactics 

In 2024, darknet market vendors started changing how they manage their crypto. Instead of mostly cashing out through centralized exchanges like they used to, many began using DeFi platforms, storing funds in personal wallets, and keeping their crypto on-chain. Smaller sellers tended to hold onto their earnings, while bigger drug distributors made more use of DeFi to move their money around.

Most of the crypto going into darknet markets last year came from large drug purchases, over $1,000, which points to resellers or dealers. Smaller buys under $100, likely for personal use, still happened, but big transactions made up most of the market activity on both darknet markets and online pharmacies.

Related: Ross Ulbricht: Drug lord or the first crypto-prisoner?

Activities on Abacus Market Facilitating Illicit Drug Trade More Than Doubled

In 2024, Abacus Market was the top-earning darknet marketplace serving Western customers, bringing in $43.3 million in on-chain revenue. Since 2021, its revenue has grown essentially, in 2024 alone, it more than doubled with a 183% year-over-year increase. This growth may be linked to the shutdown of other major darknet markets, the move by many markets to accept only privacy coin Monero (XMR), and some centralized exchanges stopping support for XMR.

The US, Canada, Germany, Australia, and the UK have the most listings on Abacus Market. Vendors on the platform offer a wide range of products globally, with drugs and chemicals making up most of their listings. 

Notably, 16 vendors on Abacus either sell or source drug materials, many connected to China-based suppliers. These China-based vendors provide chemicals used to make synthetic drugs as well as machinery like pill presses. One pill press manufacturer even advertises openly on regular business websites and has blockchain links to Abacus drug vendors.

At the end of the report, Chainlink highlighted the need for global efforts to take down illegal drug networks.