Darknet Update: Hydra Reigns, Monero Acceptance Climbs, Russian State Collusion Questioned
In the year 2020's final days Darknet markets (DNM) broke new records , as markets like White House and the Russian-language DNM Hydra led the pack. A report published on May 25 shows Hydra recorded an increase of 624% from year to year rate in the past three years and researchers estimate roughly 75% of all illicit DNM transactions come from the Russian marketplace. Moreover, the privacy coin monero is experiencing more acceptance from vendors on DNMs these days. On June 29, monero captured 84% of vendors' acceptance on three of the biggest marketplaces.
The Complex Russian Darknet Market Hydra Eclipses 26 Marketplaces
While cryptocurrency markets are down by value but the usage of darknet markets has continued to increase. DNMs are able to remain profitable during Covid-19. Stats revealed that, even when the world was locked down, DNM use was flourishing.
A number of DNMs are in operation today, and studies and data suggest that the two most important darknet markets comprise Hydra and White House Market. Other notable DNMs that will be operational in the second half of 2021 include World Market Darknet, Cannazon, Cannahome, Torrez Market, Dark0de Reborn Market, Vice City, Aurora, and the Majestic Garden.
The end of May, the blockchain forensics companies Chainalysis along with Flashpoint threat intelligence released the report, which takes a deep dive into the rise to prominence of Hydra. The report titled "Hydra: Where Cryptocurrency Roads All Lead to Russia and Go Dark," explains how Hydra administrators impose strict rules for sellers who are using the DNM.
Despite Hydra's strict regulations The report points out that Hydra continues to be profitable. In addition, vendor withdrawals are directed through Russian exchanges and service providers, the report details. The Flashpoint as well as Chainalysis report adds:
"Hydra market activity has skyrocketed since its inception, with annual transaction volumes growing from a total of $9.40 million in 2016 to north of $1.37 billion by the end of 2020. Observed through blockchain analysis, we see a staggering 624% year-over-year growth rate for Hydra in its three most recent years 2018 to 2020."
Monero Acceptance on Darknet Markets Continues to Rise
Darknet tracker data provided by blockchain analysis service 1000x Group suggests that there are about 27 DNMs currently operating. Nine of the markets take BTC only five markets take BTC and a variety of coins, eleven markets accept BTC and monero (XMR) as well as two markets only accept XMR. Bitcoin market only include Darkfox, Hydra, Vice City, Aurora, Majestic Garden, Neptune, Mega, Global Dreams, and Flugsvamp 3.0. The marketplaces that focus on monero only include White House Market and Archetyp Market.
Being one of the top markets similar to Hydra, White House Market (WHM) also has strict rules , and monero (XMR) only acceptance is one of them. WHM also requires 2FA, the use of PGP, and the site is often down from DDOS attacks over the decades. The DNM has hundreds of vendors, and claims to have over 1 million users by 2021. WHM gained a significant amount of customers and vendors following the collapse of Dream Market and there's more than 50,000 items available. The DNM White House Market additionally receives a 4% fee for everything that is sold on the deep web portal.
The statistics show that monero (XMR) has seen an increase in vendor acceptance on three specific completely operational DNMs. Although BTC still dominates on DNMs, XMR commands an impressive amount of approval on these markets. DNM tracker data indicates that in the last two weeks of the month of May XMR acceptability by vendors was above 50%.
In the initial two weeks of June, monero saw a dip below the 50% limit and saw a peak of 37.60 percent in June 8. However, monero vendor acceptance increased to 84% on June 29 and has been over the 50% area ever since. When monero saw a low in mid-June, there was a greater percentage of litecoin (LTC) accepted by vendors at that point. The percentage of vendor acceptance is based on the acceptance of vendors through Versus Market, Cannahome, and Cannazon.
Do Hydra Receive a Semi-Official Sanction from Russian leaders?
As Hydra has grown to become one of the biggest DNMs globally, having surpassed the old Russian DNM Ramp, Joe Biden's administration has been focusing on Russia's involvement in these kinds of actors. Biden has been talking about Russia to the press and has urged Russia to take steps to stop cyber threats like ransomware.
In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline attack and the Kaseya breach, Biden told the press that he spoke with Russian presidency Vladmir Putin on Friday. Biden stated that he had said to Putin that he had to "take action" against these cyber criminals.
"I made it very clear to [Vladmir Putin] that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though it's not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is," Biden made clear this week.
The ransomware attack is a single thing, but Bloomberg blogger Leonid Bershidsky thinks there's a possibility that Hydra might have some sort of "semi-official sanction" from Russian officials. Bershidsky states in a recent report that Russia's "Hydra, its krysha, or protection, is the elephant in the room." The writer says Putin isn't in any way arousing motive to stop DNMs and he also thinks that "retaliatory action from the U.S. isn't compelling enough." Bershidsky's opinion editorial concludes:
"As things stand, Putin can let the likes of Hydra worry about that prospect. And if they are crushed, others can take their place. The dark web is nothing if not resilient."
In the year 2020's final days Darknet markets (DNM) broke new records , as markets like White House and the Russian-language DNM Hydra led the pack. A report published on May 25 shows Hydra recorded an increase of 624% from year to year rate in the past three years and researchers estimate roughly 75% of all illicit DNM transactions come from the Russian marketplace. Moreover, the privacy coin monero is experiencing more acceptance from vendors on DNMs these days. On June 29, monero captured 84% of vendors' acceptance on three of the biggest marketplaces.
The Complex Russian Darknet Market Hydra Eclipses 26 Marketplaces
While cryptocurrency markets are down by value but the usage of darknet markets has continued to increase. DNMs are able to remain profitable during Covid-19. Stats revealed that, even when the world was locked down, DNM use was flourishing.
A number of DNMs are in operation today, and studies and data suggest that the two most important darknet markets comprise Hydra and White House Market. Other notable DNMs that will be operational in the second half of 2021 include World Market Darknet, Cannazon, Cannahome, Torrez Market, Dark0de Reborn Market, Vice City, Aurora, and the Majestic Garden.
The end of May, the blockchain forensics companies Chainalysis along with Flashpoint threat intelligence released the report, which takes a deep dive into the rise to prominence of Hydra. The report titled "Hydra: Where Cryptocurrency Roads All Lead to Russia and Go Dark," explains how Hydra administrators impose strict rules for sellers who are using the DNM.
Despite Hydra's strict regulations The report points out that Hydra continues to be profitable. In addition, vendor withdrawals are directed through Russian exchanges and service providers, the report details. The Flashpoint as well as Chainalysis report adds:
"Hydra market activity has skyrocketed since its inception, with annual transaction volumes growing from a total of $9.40 million in 2016 to north of $1.37 billion by the end of 2020. Observed through blockchain analysis, we see a staggering 624% year-over-year growth rate for Hydra in its three most recent years 2018 to 2020."
Monero Acceptance on Darknet Markets Continues to Rise
Darknet tracker data provided by blockchain analysis service 1000x Group suggests that there are about 27 DNMs currently operating. Nine of the markets take BTC only five markets take BTC and a variety of coins, eleven markets accept BTC and monero (XMR) as well as two markets only accept XMR. Bitcoin market only include Darkfox, Hydra, Vice City, Aurora, Majestic Garden, Neptune, Mega, Global Dreams, and Flugsvamp 3.0. The marketplaces that focus on monero only include White House Market and Archetyp Market.
Being one of the top markets similar to Hydra, White House Market (WHM) also has strict rules , and monero (XMR) only acceptance is one of them. WHM also requires 2FA, the use of PGP, and the site is often down from DDOS attacks over the decades. The DNM has hundreds of vendors, and claims to have over 1 million users by 2021. WHM gained a significant amount of customers and vendors following the collapse of Dream Market and there's more than 50,000 items available. The DNM White House Market additionally receives a 4% fee for everything that is sold on the deep web portal.
The statistics show that monero (XMR) has seen an increase in vendor acceptance on three specific completely operational DNMs. Although BTC still dominates on DNMs, XMR commands an impressive amount of approval on these markets. DNM tracker data indicates that in the last two weeks of the month of May XMR acceptability by vendors was above 50%.
In the initial two weeks of June, monero saw a dip below the 50% limit and saw a peak of 37.60 percent in June 8. However, monero vendor acceptance increased to 84% on June 29 and has been over the 50% area ever since. When monero saw a low in mid-June, there was a greater percentage of litecoin (LTC) accepted by vendors at that point. The percentage of vendor acceptance is based on the acceptance of vendors through Versus Market, Cannahome, and Cannazon.
Do Hydra Receive a Semi-Official Sanction from Russian leaders?
As Hydra has grown to become one of the biggest DNMs globally, having surpassed the old Russian DNM Ramp, Joe Biden's administration has been focusing on Russia's involvement in these kinds of actors. Biden has been talking about Russia to the press and has urged Russia to take steps to stop cyber threats like ransomware.
In the wake of the Colonial Pipeline attack and the Kaseya breach, Biden told the press that he spoke with Russian presidency Vladmir Putin on Friday. Biden stated that he had said to Putin that he had to "take action" against these cyber criminals.
"I made it very clear to [Vladmir Putin] that the United States expects when a ransomware operation is coming from his soil even though it's not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is," Biden made clear this week.
The ransomware attack is a single thing, but Bloomberg blogger Leonid Bershidsky thinks there's a possibility that Hydra might have some sort of "semi-official sanction" from Russian officials. Bershidsky states in a recent report that Russia's "Hydra, its krysha, or protection, is the elephant in the room." The writer says Putin isn't in any way arousing motive to stop DNMs and he also thinks that "retaliatory action from the U.S. isn't compelling enough." Bershidsky's opinion editorial concludes:
"As things stand, Putin can let the likes of Hydra worry about that prospect. And if they are crushed, others can take their place. The dark web is nothing if not resilient."