Darknet Update: Hydra Reigns, Monero Acceptance Climbs, Russian State Collusion Questioned


By the end of 2020 Darknet markets (DNM) established new records as marketplaces like White House and the Russian-language DNM Hydra led the pack. The report, released on May 25, shows Hydra has seen an increase of 624% in year-over-year in just three years and researchers estimate roughly 75% of illegal DNM transactions are originating from the Russian market. Furthermore, the privacy-focused coin monero is experiencing more vendor acceptance for DNMs in the present. On the 29th of June monero captured 84% of vendors' acceptance on three of the biggest marketplaces.

The Complex Russian Darknet Market Hydra Eclipses 26 Marketplaces


Although the cryptocurrency market is down in value, the use of darknet markets continues to increase. DNMs have managed to stay lucrative throughout Covid-19 and stats suggested that even while the entire global economy was in lockdown DNM use was on the rise.


A number of DNMs are operational today as reports and data show that the two largest darknet markets include Hydra as well as White House Market. Other noteworthy DNMs that will be operational in the second half of 2021 are World Market Darknet,Cannazon, Cannahome, Torrez Market, Dark0de Reborn Market, Vice City, Aurora, and the Majestic Garden.


In May, the blockchain forensics companies Chainalysis and Flashpoint threat intelligence have released their report which provides an in-depth analysis of the rise to prominence of Hydra. The report, which is titled "Hydra: Where Cryptocurrency Roads All Lead to Russia and Go Dark," describes how Hydra administrators have strict guidelines on sellers who use the DNM.


Despite Hydra's strict rules The report points out the fact that Hydra is still profitable. Additionally, vendor withdrawals are channeled through Russian exchanges and service providers, the report details. According to the Flashpoint report and Chainalysis report further states:


"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 firm 1000x Group suggests that there are about 27 DNMs operating today. Nine of these markets accept BTC only five markets will accept BTC as well as a range of currencies eleven markets accept BTC as well as monero (XMR) while two markets will only accept XMR. Bitcoin sole markets comprise Darkfox, Hydra, Vice City, Aurora, Majestic Garden, Neptune, Mega, Global Dreams, and Flugsvamp 3.0. While, markets that specialize in monero exclusively include White House Market and Archetyp Market.


One of the best markets, similar to Hydra, White House Market (WHM) also has strict rules and monero (XMR) only acceptance is one of the rules. WHM is also a requirement for 2FA, the use of PGP and the website frequently suffers from DDOS attacks over the time. The DNM is home to thousands of vendors and boasts to have more than one million users in 2021. WHM gained a significant quantity of clients and vendors after the downfall of Dream Market and there's more than 50,000 goods available. It's also worth noting that the DNM White House Market additionally earns a 4% commission on every item sold on the deep web portal.


Statistics indicate the monero (XMR) has witnessed significant growth in market acceptance for three functional DNMs. While BTC still dominates on DNMs, XMR commands an appreciable amount of acceptance on these markets. DNM tracker data show that during the final two weeks of May XMR acceptability by vendors was above 50%.


For the first couple of weeks of the month, monero was able to see a decline below the 50% threshold and dropped to 37.60% in June 8. However, monero's acceptability as a vendor was up to 84% by the 29th of June and has remained above the 50% mark ever since. When monero saw a low in mid-June there was a higher proportion of litecoin (LTC) acceptability at the moment. The percentage of vendor acceptance is based on the level of acceptance by vendors via Versus Market, Cannahome, and Cannazon.


Does Hydra Receive a Semi-Official Sanction from Russian Leaders?


While Hydra has grown into one of the biggest DNMs in the World Market Url, surpassing the old Russian DNM Ramp, Joe Biden's administration is focusing on Russia's involvement with these types of actors. Biden has been talking about Russia to the press and has urged Russia to take action against cyber-attacks like ransomware.


Following the Colonial Pipeline attack and the Kaseya breach, Biden told the press that he met with Russian the president Vladmir Putin on Friday. Biden declared that he had told Putin he must "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 said this week.


Now the ransomware is one issue however Bloomberg writer Leonid Bershidsky believes there's a possibility that Hydra has some kind that has a "semi-official sanction" from Russian the Russian leaders. Bershidsky notes in a recent piece the fact that Russian's "Hydra, its krysha, or protection, is the elephant in the room." The writer says Putin doesn't really have any motive to stop DNMs and is of the opinion 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."