Police Take Down the Infamous Monero-Only Dark Web Market
The post Police Take Down the Infamous Monero-Only Dark Web Market appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Archetyp, the largest drug market on the dark web, has been shuttered after police raids. International law enforcement seized a wealth of data on employees, vendors, and buyers. The dark web market was famous for conducting all transactions using the privacy token Monero (XMR). With five years of active trading and $250 million in total volume, Archetyp was a titan of this sector. Dark web drug markets are growing more sophisticated, but police are cracking down. The Hunt for Dark Web Crypto Markets Although the crypto community of 2025 has its fair share of criminal activity, dark web drug markets can seem like relics from a bygone age. Many of the biggest websites are long-defunct, and extant Bitcoin wallets qualify as “ancient.” However, law enforcement agencies’ seizure of Archetyp, the world’s largest dark web drug market, reminds us that it’s still an active trade. “I’m sorry to say, but I was arrested on June 11 in by special forces of the Spanish Policía Nacional…on behalf of the Public Prosecutor General’s office in (Germany) and supported by police forces in the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Romania, the US, as well as Europol and Eurojust,” Archetyp’s anonymous admin claimed in a statement. Needless to say, this high level of international cooperation shows governments’ desire to shut down these sites. Although dark web laundering tools are becoming more sophisticated, cross-border operations have made a lot of progress in recent months. Archetyp has been one victim of this broad dark web crackdown. Archetyp, a self-styled “hidden bazaar,” was the world’s largest dark web drug market until now. Over its five years of operation, it had more than $250 million in lifetime transaction volumes. Local enforcement seized assets worth $7.8 million, but their press release doesn’t clarify how much is in crypto, computer hardware, or narcotics.…
