The marketplace’s operators appear to have disappeared with users’ cryptocurrency funds, marking another significant blow to the Western darknet ecosystem following the law enforcement seizure of Archetyp Market in June 2025. The marketplace’s administrator, known by the pseudonym ‘Vito’, attempted to reassure the community through posts on darkweb discussion forum Dread, claiming that an influx of former Archetyp users and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks were causing the technical difficulties. Following Archetyp's June seizure, remaining platforms face pressure to absorb displaced users amid increasing darknet instability. However, considering that Monero typically accounts for two-thirds to three-quarters of total darknet marketplace volume due to its privacy features, Abacus’s actual sales volume likely reached between USD 300 million and USD 400 million. Abacus Market went offline in early July 2025 and likely disappeared with users' cryptocurrency funds in a classic exit scam. Nearly half of the marketplaces launched in 2024 accepted only Monero, representing a sharp increase from just over one-third in 2023, signaling a growing preference for enhanced privacy and anti-surveillance capabilities. The platform generated USD 100 million in Bitcoin sales, with total estimated revenue of USD 300-400 million, including Monero.
This Cyber News was published on cybersecuritynews.com. Publication date: Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:10:15 +0000