Altcoins, Cryptocurrency, News & Updates

BTC Reigns the DNM, Cashaa’s Stolen Coins Sent to Hydra, while Cannabis Sales Outpour

August 17, 2020

In the past six months, the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a lot of panic in the world, and one thing is certain, the use of darknet markets has surged. While the citizens of the world have been in lockdown, cannabis sales have shot up, and the dollar value of bitcoin transactions done privately has persisted over $100 million per month.

The use of Darknet Market has exploded over the past six months, particularly when the coronavirus outbreak has occurred. Data from research groups show that bitcoin (BTC) is still the top choice for DNM vendor acceptance.

Steven Zheng, a block research analyst, explains in a report printed recently, that bitcoin captures 98% of the 49 DNMs the researcher graphed. The surveyed DNMs show that monero (XMR) is the second-most leveraged (45%) crypto acknowledged on DNMs. Litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH) capture 29% and 12% respectively.

1000x Group’s data is unlike the company’s tracker which observes 15 different DNMs. Most of the markets accept BTC, except Whitehouse and Monopoly Market, which only accept monero (XMR).

Almost all of the markets receive BTC, except Whitehouse and Monopoly Market, which only accept monero (XMR).

Darkbay, Empire, and Cannazon all receive BTC, but they also sponsor litecoin (LTC) and monero (XMR) dealings.

Similar to Steven Zheng’s data, 1000x Group’s DNM tracker shows that the mainstream of DNM vendors acknowledges BTC. Recently, monero (XMR) apprehended 65% of DNM vendor acceptance.

Image via 1000x Group (red monero and blue is litecoin).

Out of 15 different trailed DNMs, vendor acceptance for BTC is near 100%, monero (XMR) vendor acceptance on August 11, 2020, is 65%, and litecoin (LTC) is seizing 26.8% of the vendor data logged.

Litecoin (LTC) commands 26.8% of a vendor receiving on DNMs as per to 1000x Group’s tracker, which measures the cryptos that are accepted as a payment process on the darknet.

On July 11, 2020, the digital currency exchange Cashaa exposed that it was hacked for 336 BTC worth $4.3 million at today’s exchange rates. Reports from the blockchain analysis firm Cyphertrace and it’s chief financial analyst, John Jefferies, shows that a decent portion of these coins is waiting to be “peeled.”

Peeling consists of separating large sums of coins into smaller portions and sending them to DNMs, deep web bitcoin mixers, and unregulated exchanges. 1000x Group’s data shows that the dollar value of bitcoin transactions done clandestinely has endured over $100 million per month. During April there was a touch less at $950 million, as May saw the most private dealings in terms of dollar value at $149 million. July’s dollar value of secluded bitcoin (BTC) transactions touched $137 million, and August data is still building at $86 million.

Image via Chainalysis. The Russian marketplace Hydra captures 65% of the worldwide DNM market shares.

Jefferies explained that 50 BTC from the Cashaa hack was sent to five crypto trading platforms and the Russian DNM Hydra. Hydra is one of the major DNMs worldwide, and estimates say the market captures 65% of the DNM market share despite it only provides to Russians.

“The remainder of the funds has combined with additional funds unrelated to the initial hack, and moved into the dark market Hydra and five unique cryptocurrency exchanges,” Jefferies explained on July 19.

Darknet market research from the Journal of Addiction Medicine also shows that during the Covid-19 crisis, marijuana sales swelled exponentially during the lockdowns.

Journal of Addiction Medicine’s Darknet Market Research also shows that during the Covid-19 crisis, marijuana sales increased exponentially during the lockdowns.

(Left figure) Reported shipping countries, Agartha, Cannazon, and Versus DNMs. (Middle figure) Main drug categories sold on Agartha. (Right figure) Main drug categories by reported shipping origin.

The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) said that during March pot sales jumped by over 30%. Teodora Groshkova, a researcher from EMCDDA, enlightened that during that time, consumers were trying to increase stock because of the pending lockdown orders.

“It’s possible that [cannabis] buyers were trying to stock up for the weeks to come, or there’s just a larger group of cannabis users discovering online as a convenient distribution channel when social contact is limited and they have limited means to reach out to their usual dealer,” Groshkova’s report highlights. The researcher also noted that small-quantity retail sales pointed and wholesale purchases started to dip during these months.

“When the offline opportunities for [cannabis] resale is limited, these people are not so interested to get hold of this type of larger amount,” Groshkova’s report reveals. “They see that they’re going to have difficulty shifting these products.”

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