Wall Street Market, the second-largest darknet in the world in recent months, has been shut down by international law enforcement agencies, including Europol as well as U.S., German, Dutch and Romanian law enforcement. Three suspected operators of the online marketplace for illegal goods and services have been arrested in Germany, while some of the highest-selling suppliers of narcotics were arrested in the United States.Darknet markets are the digital black markets only accessible through the anonymizing Tor browser; they use bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for payment. They have only grown in popularity since the pioneering Silk Road was shutdown in 2013. According to research by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis published in January 2019, darknet market activity almost doubled throughout 2018, surpassing a yearly volume of $600 million. Back in the days of Silk Road, the record yearly volume was only $200 million, according to Chainalysis.One of Silk Road’s recent successors, Wall Street Market, offered a platform for selling illegal drugs as well as weapons, hacking software and stolen login credentials. According to Europol, over 1,150,000 user accounts were registered on Wall Street Market, and over 63,000 offers had been placed on the website by more than 5,400 seller accounts. This made Wall Street Market the second-most popular darknet market at the time of closure, Europol noted, presumably behind Dream Mark...
