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Following the collapse of Hydra Market final year, darknet drug markets proceed to bounce again and adapt. Megan Townsend explores the current state of play in 2023...

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

What's the darknet and how does it work?

The Internet Iceberg

For these much less aware of the workings of the darknet and its numerous marketplaces, permit me to explain…

If you happen to picture the internet in terms of an iceberg, then the surface net, where we're proper now, would kind the tip of that iceberg. Accounting for simply 4% of the entire internet, the surface internet is the portion with which people are most familiar. The floor internet encompasses the components of the online which can be accessible through search engines like google and yahoo, similar to google. However, many don’t realise that the online extends far previous this.

One step beneath the floor net is the deep web. This part of the online isn’t accessible by conventional search engines like google and yahoo, and so isn’t picked up by net crawlers. To access pages and data inside the deep web, users require the proper authorisation and credentials.

However, simply because a webpage exists in the deep web doesn’t mean it’s harmful. A number of harmless items exist within this layer, akin to unpublished weblog posts, archived information stories and articles with paywalls.

Below the deep internet is the darknet (or darkish web), which is even harder to access as a result of its unsearchable, encrypted and non-public nature which affords users full anonymity.

The darknet does have some authentic makes use of together with private communication and the protecting of confidential sources. Despite this, the darknet is probably higher recognized for its internet hosting of drug marketplaces, such as the Silk Road, black markets and cyber attack services to call a number of. Its very design makes the darknet a hotspot for criminal activity, and so this has change into synonymous with this section of the web.

The Onion Router (TOR)

As it’s inaccessible via the floor net, users require a software program known because the Onion Router (or TOR) to get to the darknet. Originally created by the US Government, TOR is an anonymising browser that permits users to enter the darknet and blocks their id. Adding to this layer of safety and anonymity is using cryptocurrency to make transactions on the darknet.

Darknet drug markets

Perhaps one of the most nicely-identified capabilities of the darknet is its internet hosting of giant-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 offered a large variety of gadgets, but was an infamous drug market - with drugs accounting for 70% of the drugs bought in spring 2013. At its height, Silk Road was estimated to be worth $34.5m. Silk Road was ultimately shut down by the FBI in October 2013, following the arrest of Ross Ulbricht.

More not too long ago, 2022 saw the fall of one other distinguished darknet identify. Launched in 2015, the Russian marketplace, Hydra Market, was recognized for its commerce in medication amongst different things. The Hydra Market grew to become one in all the biggest marketplaces on the darknet, accounting for round 80% of darknet activity and amassing 19,000 vendor accounts and 17 million customers. In terms of drug sales, Hydra Market became the most important narcotic market among the former countries of the USSR. Hydra Market met an identical 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 new darknet markets emerged - a number of these being darknet drug markets which targeted former Hydra prospects and distributors.

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

As encryption, anonymity and privateness are central to the design of the darknet and its varied drug markets, up-to-date information on drug tendencies is tough to return by. Analysis from the World Drug Report 2023 means that whilst the common purchaser is spending more on drug transactions (rising from $one hundred per transaction in 2018 to $500 in 2021), the number of energetic buyers and transactions have notably decreased.

Interestingly, the rise of social media as an rising drug market has additionally impacted buying tendencies. Self-reported information means that social media platforms have turn into favourable for low-level transactions of cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine, whereas new psychoactive substances are nonetheless sold to a larger diploma by way of the darknet.

On the subject of who darknet drug markets promote to, there additionally appears to have been a change of tack. For many marketplaces, the normal purchaser has finally been the tip consumer of the product offered - nonetheless, specialists suggest that darknet drug markets are beginning to shift in the direction of wholesale. The decline in the variety of energetic markets, contributors and transactions, contrasted with an increase in general darknet sales and common transactions indicates that distributors might instead be promoting to drug distributors, or may have widened their array of services and products.

To date, 2023 has introduced darknet drug markets with quite a lot of challenges - nevertheless, their ability to bounce back despite these clearly reveals they won’t be going wherever anytime soon. The rise of social media for ‘low-level’ drug transactions means that darknet drug markets will proceed to adapt their response, focusing on wholesale drug distributors, slightly than the tip shopper.

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