The Race to Create Silk Road 2.0
Whilst many vendors and buyers have migrated to Silk Road’s two remaining competitors, Black Market Reloaded and Sheep Marketplace, other members have been working around the clock to develop and launch Silk Road 2.0. Ex-Atlantis mod, Heisenberg2.0, claims to have counted “at least 5 publicly stated projects with the said aim of becoming “Silk Road […]
The beginning of the end?
And so timezones screwed me over and I’ve just woken up to the news that the Dread Pirate Roberts has been arrested. I haven’t even had my second coffee yet, nor have I been able to digest what’s happened, but I’m pretty sure my blog is well on its way to most hits ever for […]
When drug dealers get all warm and fuzzy
Some Silk Road drug dealers are promising to donate a percentage of this week’s sales to charity Black markets are supposed to be dangerous places. Drug dealers are bad guys. Drug users are selfish hedonists who would steal from their Grandma for a fix. Except when they’re not.
The Fall of Atlantis – a Moderator tells
“Atlantis admins shut down the site and ran away with the coins. It’s the truth.” – Cicero, Moderator of Atlantis Marketplace forum A little under six months ago – not long after they opened shop – I conducted the first in-depth interview with online drug barons Loera and Vladimir, founders of Atlantis Marketplace. The two […]
Silk Road Wiki Wars
Should Wikipedia draw a line at including links to illegal marketplaces or websites hosting objectionable content? And does it have a duty to prevent its readers from becoming victims of phishing if they visit those links? For such a short Wikipedia entry, Silk Road has been responsible for a lot of behind-the-scenes drama. It started […]
Silk Road responds to competition with improvements of its own
Atlantis Marketplace has undertaken aggressive marketing of its site over the past few months, touting superior features to those offered by Silk Road. Its aim has been to both attract new customers and lure clients away from the incumbent giant, but so far they must be underwhelmed by the response. Attracting sellers has not been […]
The myth of the ‘Drug Pusher’
In Puberty Blues (the book, not the movie or TV show), there is a classic line where the protagonist’s mother warns her not to sit on the aisle at the movie theatre because “some pusher might come along and jab god-knows-what into your arm”. Growing up I was always being warned about malevolent people who […]
Interview with a (virtual) drug tsar
“We will be an adversary not to be trifled with. We have big plans for Atlantis, and we’re here to stay.”. As online drugs marketplace Silk Road sustains blows from an ongoing attack its owner says “appears to be DoS in nature,” the forums are awash with queries, rumours and speculation about newcomer, Atlantis Marketplace. […]
Competition for (black) market share hotting up
With the media reporting that internet drug dealing is on the rise, it’s no great surprise that new marketplaces have started popping up wanting a piece of the action. Most of these seem to be wannabes with no real hope of making a dent into the big boy’s market share. But a couple seem determined […]
Are there modern-day Gladitorial fights on the Darkweb?
One of the most pervasive urban myths on the darkweb is that you can find underground rings of Django Unchained-style fights to the death. Some of the believers claim they give millionaire members the opportunity to attend such fights; others say there are live webcams broadcasting them, which can be accessed for a fee. I’ve […]