In 2022, the darknet marketplace Hydra shut down, leading to a massive shift in the world of drugs and other illicit goods. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that, based on blockchain data, many darknet vendors who used Hydra switched to OMG!OMG!, an alternative marketplace. The move is indicative of how quickly these marketplaces can adapt — offering insight into how they are likely to be able to stay ahead of law enforcement efforts even today.
Wallets that previously interacted with Hydra began transacting with OMG!OMG! wallets, and since then more than half of OMG!OMG!’s revenue has come from former Hydra customers, Chainalysis said. This could be a sign that Hydra operators have also been involved with OMG!OMG!.
Both platforms adopted a similar method for drug delivery: buyers were given geographic coordinates of designated parks and other locations, where the packages they purchased were hidden in advance.
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After Hydra
Hydra was once the leading platform for drug trafficking, forged documents, money laundering, and other illicit goods and services worldwide—its users were primarily in Eastern Europe. In addition to providing crypto cash-out facilities to its clients, Hydra announced an initial coin offering (ICO) of its own token in 2019—although this never materialized.
In April 2022, the US government made a groundbreaking decision to include Hydra cryptocurrency wallets on the sanctions list, leading German law enforcement to take swift action and shut down the platform, while seizing a staggering 543 bitcoins worth approximately $25 million!
After Hydra's closure: competitors OMG!OMG!, Blacksprut and Mega Darknet Market took action.
According to TRM Labs, a blockchain intelligence firm, since Hydra's collapse eight months ago, other darknet markets have amassed $820 million worth of crypto.
Since Hydra's fall, its rivals have been vying for dominance in imaginative ways. For example, Vice noted that a drug market, Kraken, parked a bus with its logo in central Moscow and even placed an advertisement on a building there! OMG!OMG! followed suit.
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After Hydra was shut down in May, OMG!OMG! quickly gained more than half of the total market share. Unfortunately, it was soon hit by a DDoS attack and then moved to second place behind Mega Darknet Market and Blacksprut. Similarly, Blacksprut has also been targeted in the past. According to reports in Vice magazine, some darknet platforms have even resorted to hiring hackers from the KillNet group to attack each other online.
Revenues are falling
According to Chainalysis, the shutdown of Hydra caused a dramatic drop in overall darknet revenue. In 2021, darknet shops (mostly drug trafficking websites) made $2.6 billion – by 2022, that had dropped to just $1.3 billion! Average daily revenue dropped from an impressive $4.2 million before Hydra’s downfall to just $447k after the shutdown. These statistics reveal just how significant and worrisome the impact was for these illicit networks when Hydra closed its doors for good!
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The closure of another drug marketplace, Bypass Shop, which was reportedly shut down by Russian authorities, also contributed to the overall decline. However, Chainalysis reported that these stores have been gradually recovering since mid-2022.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
