Bitcoin News and Finance
Global Law Enforcement Agencies Dismantle Darknet Marketplace Monopoly Market, Arrest 288 and Seize $53.4 Million Skip to main content

Global Law Enforcement Agencies Dismantle Darknet Marketplace Monopoly Market, Arrest 288 and Seize $53.4 Million

Image
KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News

    

Global Law Enforcement Agencies Dismantle Darknet Marketplace Monopoly Market, Arrest 288 and Seize $53.4 Million

On May 2, 2023, Europol announced a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies from the U.S., Europe, the U.K., and Brazil culminated in 288 arrests, along with the confiscation of 850 kg of illegal drugs, 117 firearms, and $53.4 million in cash and cryptocurrencies. This joint venture, named “Operation Spector,” successfully dismantled the darknet marketplace (DNM) Monopoly Market and confiscated its infrastructure back in December 2021.

Monopoly Market Taken Down via a Consortium of Global Law Enforcement Officials

The U.S. Justice Department and Europol reveal that officials from around the globe collaborated to bring down the DNM Monopoly Market, resulting in the arrest of 288 individuals throughout the investigation. The statement discloses that Monopoly was captured in December 2021 and led to over 100 federal investigations and prosecutions within the United States. In January 2022, an anonymous DNM and Tor researcher known as “Dark.fail” noted that Monopoly’s servers had been seized.

“Alert — Monopoly Market’s servers were seized by their host, very likely law enforcement action,” Dark.fail tweeted at the time. “If you conducted blockchain/cyber research on this platform be aware that your transaction history may be in unknown hands.”

Global Law Enforcement Agencies Dismantle Darknet Marketplace Monopoly Market, Arrest 288 and Seize $53.4 Million

Europol stated that German authorities apprehended the DNM and started gathering evidence which “served as the foundation for hundreds of national investigations.” The officials also highlighted that Monopoly vendors held prominent positions on other well-known DNMs. The apprehended suspects were classified as “high-value targets.”

Europol’s executive director, Catherine De Bolle, commented: “This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web: international law enforcement has the means and the ability to identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark web.” Authorities emphasized that Operation Spector achieved greater success than its two predecessors, Operation Disruptor, and Operation Dark Huntor.

In April 2022, German and U.S. law enforcement collaborated to shut down the massive Russian DNM Hydra, seizing EUR 23 million in cryptocurrencies. Despite the success of all of these operations, DNMs continue to proliferate, very much like the mythical creature Hydra, with its ability to regenerate its body parts.

Currently, DNM patrons have a plethora of options to choose from, including Tor2door Market, ASAP Market, Abacus Market, Vice City Market, Archetyp Market, Bohemia Market, Incognito Market, Gammagoblin, Psycellium, Flugsvamp 4.0, Mega Darknet Market, and Cypher Market, among others.

What do you think is the next step for global law enforcement agencies in their fight against the proliferation of darknet marketplaces? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

Location: Germany

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and...
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r...
1 comment
Read more

Trezor and Wasabi to Implement a Coinjoin Mixing Scheme Into Hardware Wallets

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
This week, the hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor, and the non-custodial bitcoin wallet with a built-in Coinjoin mixer, Wasabi, revealed the two teams are working together to introduce Coinjoin mixing into hardware wallets. On Sunday, Wasabi tweeted “hardware wallet Coinjoins are coming next year with our friends at [Trezor].” Trezor Says Company Is ‘Working on a Coinjoin Implementation’ According to Trezor and Wasabi , a form of Coinjoin mixing is coming to hardware wallets in the near future. Coinjoin is a privacy-enhancing process that is leveraged to anonymize transfers on a blockchain. Basically, the scheme involves a number of parties transacting together and mixing their unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs) in a pool to obfuscate the origin of all the funds. On Sunday, Wasabi’s official Twitter account tweeted about adding the privacy-enhancing scheme to hardware wallets. In the thread, someone asked Wasabi when they would release an “album,” and Trezor replied : “Hi, we’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature a Fictional Cryptocurrency

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
One of the biggest franchises in the videogame industry, Grand Theft Auto, will feature in-game payments of “bitcoin” or another fictional cryptocurrency. Contractors will pay the player with this currency when they need to make anonymous, untraceable payments. This would constitute another push for Bitcoin awareness into mainstream media culture. Grand Theft Auto 6 to Feature in-Game Fictional Cryptocurrency Grand Theft Auto 6, one of the biggest gaming franchises, will feature an in-game cryptocurrency for payments according to insiders. The game will allow the player to accept cryptocurrency payments from big shot contractors who want to remain anonymous. Industry insider Tom Henderson leaked the news on Twitter earlier this week. He stated: I heard recently that in GTA 6, some missions will reward you in bitcoin instead of cash for completing some missions. The stock market feature will return, with the addition of a broker for different cryptocurrencies. If GTA 6 incorporate...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grayscale Considering 25 More Crypto Assets for Investment Products

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
Grayscale, the world’s largest crypto asset manager, is considering 25 more crypto assets for investment products. With the latest additions, the company’s list of coins under consideration has grown to 43. “The process of creating an investment product similar to the ones we already offer is a complex, multifaceted process,” said Grayscale. 25 Crypto Assets Added to List of Coins Under Consideration for Grayscale’s Investment Products Grayscale Investments announced Monday that it has updated its list of digital assets under consideration for 2022. Grayscale currently has $30.6 billion in net assets under management. The company explained that the “Assets Under Consideration” list comprises “some digital assets that are not currently included in a Grayscale investment product, but that have come to our attention as part of our exploration of this sector, and that our team has identified as possible candidates for inclusion in a future investment product.” Grayscale detailed: Wit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cardano’s Cfund First Capital Goes to Israeli Fintech Startup Coti

KEBB | Official ₿itcoin News
This latest move to broaden cooperation between Cardano and Coti builds upon previous collaborations as the former seeks to upgrade its payment solution on top of the former’s expanding financial infrastructure. Strategic Investment Marks First Allocation for New Ecosystem Venture Fund One of the earliest proposed use cases for blockchain was the democratization of financial services, namely by reaching unbanked and underbanked communities worldwide. From remittance payments, access to credit facilities, or even just digital wallet solutions, advancements across the blockchain landscape have finally made this vision a reality. Among them, Coti is developing the enterprise-grade base layer for the rest to build atop of. Coti, which is short for “currency of the internet,” operates a fintech platform that supports stakeholder-driven payment solutions and empowers these stakeholders to digitize any currency. This aim aligns with Cardano’s ambitions of affordably and instantaneously ...
3 comments
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory