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Following the collapse of Hydra Market last 12 months, darknet drug markets proceed to bounce again and adapt. Megan Townsend explores the present state of play in 2023...

The days of the Silk Road and Dread Pirate Roberts may be behind us, but darknet drug markets seem like as prevalent as ever. With the collapse of the Russian Hydra market in 2022, we explore the state of darknet drug markets in 2023.

What is the darknet and the way does it work?

The Internet Iceberg

For those less conversant in the workings of the darknet and its numerous marketplaces, allow me to elucidate…

When you image the web when it comes to an iceberg, then the floor net, where we're proper now, would kind the tip of that iceberg. Accounting for simply 4% of your complete web, the surface net is the portion with which individuals are most acquainted. The surface internet encompasses the elements of the net which can be accessible by way of search engines, similar to google. However, many don’t realise that the net extends far past this.

One step below the floor internet is the deep web. This a part of the online isn’t accessible by conventional serps, and so isn’t picked up by internet crawlers. To entry pages and information inside the deep web, customers require the correct authorisation and credentials.

However, just because a webpage exists within the deep web doesn’t mean it’s harmful. Lots of harmless objects exist within this layer, resembling unpublished blog posts, archived news stories and articles with paywalls.

Below the deep net is the darknet (or dark internet), which is even more durable to entry due to its unsearchable, encrypted and private nature which affords customers full anonymity.

The darknet does have some legit makes use of including private communication and the protecting of confidential sources. Despite this, the darknet might be better known for its hosting of drug marketplaces, such as the Silk Road, black markets and cyber attack providers to name a few. Its very design makes the darknet a hotspot for criminal exercise, and so this has turn into synonymous with this section of the net.

The Onion Router (TOR)

As it’s inaccessible via the surface web, customers require a software identified as the Onion Router (or TOR) to get to the darknet. Originally created by the US Government, TOR is an anonymising browser that enables customers to enter the darknet and blocks their identification. Adding to this layer of security and anonymity is the use of cryptocurrency to make transactions on the darknet.

Darknet drug markets

Perhaps one of the vital effectively-recognized features of the darknet is its internet hosting of massive-scale drug markets. This was no extra visible than with the rise of the Silk Road marketplace within the early 2010s. Founded by Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts), the Silk Road bought a big number of gadgets, but was an infamous drug marketplace - with medicine accounting for 70% of the medication offered in spring 2013. At its height, Silk Road was estimated to be price $34.5m. Silk Road was eventually shut down by the FBI in October 2013, following the arrest of Ross Ulbricht.

More lately, 2022 saw the fall of another distinguished darknet identify. Launched in 2015, the Russian marketplace, Hydra Market, was recognized for its trade in drugs amongst different issues. The Hydra Market grew to become one in all the biggest marketplaces on the darknet, accounting for round 80% of darknet exercise and amassing 19,000 vendor accounts and 17 million clients. When it comes to drug sales, Hydra Market turned the most important narcotic market amongst the former countries of the USSR. Hydra Market met an analogous demise to the Silk Road when it was shut down by German police in April 2022.

The state of play in 2023

Following the demise of Hydra Market in 2022, dozens of latest darknet markets emerged - a number of those being darknet drug markets which targeted former Hydra clients and distributors.

In keeping with research from numerous safety sources, quite a lot of markets reared their heads as key gamers after Hydra’s shut down, each taking it in turn to steer the market. By the top of its first month in operation, OMG! OMG! Market had already gained around $12.15 million in sales. Just like Hydra Market, various Russian darknet markets have risen up the rankings, the most important of which appears to be mega market darknet Market, which received $40m in March alone. That is followed by Blacksprut, with round $20m.

As encryption, anonymity and privacy are central to the design of the darknet and its numerous drug markets, up-to-date data on drug traits is tough to come back by. Analysis from the World Drug Report 2023 means that whilst the typical purchaser is spending extra on drug transactions (rising from $one hundred per transaction in 2018 to $500 in 2021), the number of energetic consumers and transactions have notably decreased.

Interestingly, the rise of social media as an emerging drug market has also impacted buying tendencies. Self-reported information means that social media platforms have turn out to be favourable for low-level transactions of cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, whereas new psychoactive substances are still bought to a better degree via the darknet.

In the case of who darknet drug markets promote to, there additionally appears to have been a change of tack. For most marketplaces, the traditional purchaser has finally been the tip consumer of the product sold - however, specialists counsel that darknet drug markets are starting to shift in direction of wholesale. The decline in the number of lively markets, contributors and transactions, contrasted with an increase in total darknet sales and average transactions indicates that distributors may instead be promoting to drug distributors, or might have widened their array of services and products.

So far, 2023 has presented darknet drug markets with a lot of challenges - however, their ability to bounce again regardless of these clearly reveals they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. The rise of social media for ‘low-level’ drug transactions means that darknet drug markets will continue to adapt their response, focusing on wholesale drug distributors, fairly than the top consumer.

This piece was written by Volteface Content and Media Officer Megan Townsend. She is particularly interested within the reform of drug laws, subcultural drug use and hurt discount initiatives. She also has an MA in Criminology from Birmingham City University. Tweets @megant2799.