The Shutdown Of Silk Road Didn’t Stop Other Darknet Sites From Emerging
When the FBI shut down the Silk Road in October 2013, it automatically took out drug deals totaling 13,648, according to Digital Citizens Alliance. But this famous closure of Silk Road did very little to tame the darknet. It never stopped the emergence of darknet sites like Evolution Market which is fast growing into a powerful force.
In addition to Evolution Market, the darknet is teeming with more marketplaces which facilitate thousands of new dealers with ready products to serve the equally growing and enthusiastic consumer base. Soon after the original Silk Road was closed in October 2013, Silk Road 2.0 surfaced in November andhad enabled over 100,000 people to sell and buy illegal drugs in the darknet. But it was also brought down on November2014 and its alleged operator Blake Benthall (popularly referred to as “Defcon”) arrested. The arrest and shutdown were executed under FBI’s operation “Onymous” which involved 17 countries,resulted in 17 people being arrestedand more than 400 darknet sites being taken down.
Many in the darknet communities believe that the law enforcement agencies succeed in their operations not due to any sophistication but just because the arrested operators often get loose on their “operations security”. Such is the view that encourages the community to believe strongly that the darknet will still thrive despite the relentless watch of authorities. And true to their word, the darknet is booming with thousands of transactions completed daily.
The continued emergence of more darknet sites like the Evolution Market is largely attributed to the ever unending market for stuff like illegal drugs. There are many people in the world who cannot stay a day without using drugs like say heroine. Whatever the authorities think or do, these guys will find a way to buy the drugs. And since the supply is available on the other end, all that is required is a convenient platform to facilitate trade. This is where the likes of Evolution Market come in, to serve the supreme role of connecting the “seller” to the “buyer” in the dark.
Evolution Market in particular is increasingly becoming security conscious in efforts to shield itself from the authorities. Some of the security measures the site has taken include implementing sophisticated security techniques. By December 17, 2014, Evolution Market recorded a total of 14,706 drug listings and 26,840 listings in total, making it the largest darknet marketplace. Agora Marketplace, another poplar darknet site, came second with 13, 236 drug listings out of 19,274 total listings. Nucleus Marketplace closed the top 3 with 1,210 drug listings out of 1,511 in total.
Perhaps the greatest motivation for the robust emergence of these sites is the humongous amounts of money that is behind such a “simple business” concept. Silk Road 2.0 alone is believed to have driven US $8 million worth of monthly sales. Now that Silk Road is no more but with the likes of Evolution Market and Agora taking its place, it’s not hard to imagine how much these sites are already driving. Visit here http://www.evolutionmarketplace.com/ for more information about the Evolution Market.
