Bitcoins and the Dark Web: A Dangerous Combination

The dark web, a part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and inaccessible through standard web browsers, has long been associated with illegal activity. One of the most common forms of payment on the dark web is through bitcoins, a digital currency that operates independently of a central bank.

What Is Bitcoin?

The Allure of Bitcoins on the Dark Web

Advantages Of Using Bitcoin In Dark Web Transactions

• In this case, the arrested man seems to have been unmasked by his connections to currency transactions on the regular web, but there are numerous other pathways from one to the other.
• However, these price developments also lead to increasing attention from the US government and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who shut down Silk Road in October 2013.
• Most of the deep web isn’t evil in any way, it’s just content blocked from search engines for security reasons.
• While anonymity makes enforcement difficult, darknets are open to investigation.
• The use of cryptocurrencies in the Darkweb has been the subject of recent studies.

Bitcoins are popular on the dark web for a number of reasons. First, they allow for anonymous transactions, as users do not need to provide any personal information to complete a purchase. This makes it easy for individuals to buy and sell illegal goods and services without fear of being traced.

Bitcoin Cash

SciVal was used to understand collaborative partnerships and analyze research trends [45]. VOSviewer [46] is used for bibliometric mapping, and keyword clustering [47] has been done as part of the study. Prominence is an indicator of a particular Topic’s momentum or visibility. Topic prominence from SciVal was used to arrive at future research directions [48]. The horizontal bars represent each market lifetime, i.e., the time when the market becomes active until its closure, and is colored according to the market’s monthly trading volume in USD. In the vertical axis, markets are in the chronological order of their launch date, although for some markets the activity effectively starts after the launch date (e.g., AlphaBay).

Additionally, bitcoins are decentralized, meaning that they are not subject to the same regulations as traditional currencies. This allows for greater flexibility and freedom in how they are used. For example, bitcoins can be easily transferred across borders, making them a popular choice for international transactions on the dark web.

The Dangers of Bitcoins on the Dark Web

Dark Web & Bitcoin: Facts You Need To Know

Research on currency substitution in the shadow economy, which includes the Darkweb, has also examined the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional fiat currencies [78]. This research has used local Bitcoin trade volume as a proxy for adopting cryptocurrencies in the shadow economy and has found evidence of currency substitution in some cases. Cluster 3 thematic focus is Machine learning, Social media, and Artificial intelligence related to the Darkweb. Machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques can analyze large amounts of social media data to identify patterns and trends related to the illicit drug trade and drug trafficking in the Darkweb.

The sites are readily available on the search engine results pages (SERPs). While the administrator of Besa Mafia denies that the data is real, it shows that none of the orders have been completed, despite the earliest orders being from December 2015. Meanwhile, the administrator has netted bitcoins totaling “somewhere in the region of £50,000 in the past year,” as calculated by Monterio. The researcher first ran across the site on a subreddit about the deep web that he moderates. After a lengthy interview with the Besa Mafia website administrator in March, which turned up quite a few flaws and more questions than answers, the accusation has now been backed up by a data hack. Risk Based Security claims a hacker breached the site’s database and posted the information online where it was accessible to anyone.

However, the anonymity and decentralization of bitcoins also make them a target for criminal activity. Because bitcoins are not regulated, there is no way to track or recover funds that have been stolen or used for illegal purposes. This has led to an increase in bitcoin-related scams and fraud on the dark web.

Furthermore, the use of bitcoins on the dark web can also attract unwanted attention from law enforcement. Because bitcoins are often used for illegal activities, transactions involving the digital currency may be flagged for further investigation. This can lead to legal consequences for those involved, even if they were not aware of the illegal nature of the transaction.

Still, wherever you have anonymous traffic on hidden networks, the criminal activity will follow. When Target was hacked in 2013, customer card details turned up on dark web marketplaces. Hackers have tried to do the same with Yahoo login credentials, and details of O2 phone network customers in the UK.

Conclusion

While bitcoins may offer some benefits for those operating on the dark web, the dangers and risks associated with the digital currency make it a dangerous choice. The anonymity and decentralization that make bitcoins attractive for illegal activity also make them a target for criminal activity and attract unwanted attention from law enforcement. As such, it is important for individuals to be aware of the potential dangers of using bitcoins on the dark web and to exercise caution when engaging in any transactions involving the digital currency.