$97,982.00
-0.90%$3,416.17
2.53%$256.07
-0.10%$653.52
2.99%$1.46
-5.12%$0.432837
5.14%$1.001
0.05%$1.079
2.72%$3,414.23
2.49%$0.213293
3.72%$42.21
-1.38%$6.39
16.94%$0.0000262
3.01%$0.510956
38.71%$4,039.20
2.99%$97,994.00
-0.29%$9.10
37.18%$17.72
8.13%$511.58
4.45%$3,418.40
2.51%$3.47
-2.30%$0.0000207
0.52%$8.62
1.21%$6.31
3.54%$100.15
7.83%$12.94
4.48%$10.80
9.90%$3,594.84
2.44%$0.161977
7.42%$0.202558
7.26%$11.53
2.87%$0.999202
0.76%$0.577325
17.37%$29.87
5.19%$7.81
3.11%$0.15515
1.61%$531.90
4.40%$1.003
0.00%$1.45
13.27%$0.00004832
-1.75%$24.80
0.51%$0.873688
8.41%$0.04274561
20.31%$3.70
-5.83%$3.30
3.34%$5.42
10.40%$8.31
10.55%$2.10
4.01%$51.23
10.65%$7.10
24.90%$161.87
-0.33%$0.873419
2.05%$2.25
2.29%$28.05
6.10%$1.61
9.90%$176.60
3.33%$0.887594
17.25%$0.291459
9.05%$0.00024806
0.05%$0.242359
3.08%$0.541065
5.87%$1.001
0.15%$1.56
4.24%$3,418.25
2.65%$0.678275
14.05%$5.61
2.66%$1.90
6.94%$6.14
2.20%$3,797.30
2.96%$2.55
13.87%$3,581.20
2.77%$98,089.00
-0.78%$0.164235
2.54%$1.14
1.96%$1.065
3.83%$0.421783
3.38%$97,463.00
-0.56%$3,504.31
2.74%$1,672.27
2.64%$1.50
1.46%$99.86
7.13%$21.89
13.22%$11.78
5.61%$0.03518849
19.61%$0.00000146
21.34%$69.77
3.23%$10.86
6.91%$315.60
-0.46%$0.574934
16.94%$0.852928
14.27%$0.02630254
27.72%$0.02356735
9.15%$0.584106
9.81%$1.38
9.20%$0.02310706
3.54%$1.15
2.97%$0.765957
0.21%$1.13
0.43%$1.52
15.77%$6.11
9.76%$98,322.00
-0.53%$6.87
9.80%$3.16
-0.10%$0.436663
16.78%$0.00000267
2.34%$269.93
-0.54%$1.12
14.13%$14.55
5.80%$0.174515
3.76%$12.69
9.89%$36.36
8.81%$3,388.32
2.02%$0.525019
16.13%$1.40
4.49%$97,911.00
-0.83%$3.89
0.91%$96,755.00
-0.51%$1.31
8.64%$0.00004625
3.50%$0.804461
0.35%$3,508.07
2.33%$0.433281
4.72%$259.67
-0.40%$1.37
3.32%$5.40
5.29%$0.00986651
-0.58%$0.73648
5.84%$41.30
6.25%$0.18104
11.79%$0.00817164
11.49%$0.822975
-8.73%$0.054584
7.99%$0.086901
11.24%$0.0018572
2.89%$1.002
0.15%$48.17
105.87%$0.21602
9.88%$0.00759154
3.16%$49.30
6.61%$0.267049
9.90%$3,410.61
2.12%$274.18
3.64%$21.03
7.21%$2.21
7.52%$2.12
12.07%$1.52
15.61%$0.805398
9.80%$3,418.05
2.38%$2,723.09
0.23%$0.00012208
3.66%$0.00971777
2.90%$0.098824
6.38%$2.29
13.72%$0.995983
-0.07%$0.0140351
5.11%$3,699.06
2.45%$0.49726
6.02%$0.167318
7.44%$1.69
16.43%$1.32
3.97%$0.198481
6.77%$0.583904
10.47%$0.289876
10.23%$33.23
3.98%$0.078045
15.58%$1.00
-0.05%$64.26
6.44%$3,407.41
2.51%$2.30
4.81%$0.510152
7.21%$0.079536
-1.08%$97,148.00
-1.42%$0.00000026
3.70%$1.076
1.09%$2,728.63
0.07%$0.00782418
2.28%$0.569656
9.57%$97,589.00
-1.34%$2.82
8.65%$3,394.33
2.32%$1.24
26.18%$0.00145689
-1.28%$0.0000005
2.70%$97,575.00
-1.09%$1.002
0.12%$3,412.71
2.57%$0.379934
7.49%$8.48
0.97%$0.071357
5.27%$0.0246207
11.92%$3.58
-1.83%$0.00873918
9.89%$0.248877
8.01%$3.73
-1.67%$0.807596
9.66%$0.01441739
7.33%$3,666.51
2.90%$12.42
13.54%$2.13
13.26%$0.4657
3.54%$1.054
-1.65%$2.02
13.44%$3.95
6.36%$1.002
0.07%$1.039
6.71%$3,428.41
2.99%$0.618505
10.44%$0.04568141
6.05%$0.00240198
9.28%$0.239609
14.90%$3,562.79
2.36%$8.54
5.57%$1.00
-0.06%$48.78
-3.35%$3.81
9.88%$0.00506273
5.85%$1.005
0.54%$33.82
13.59%$6.56
-0.58%$1.062
-0.25%$95.91
-0.92%$1.036
17.08%$0.465078
4.50%$0.392454
-31.08%$0.0392148
14.07%$3,764.02
2.33%$3.70
6.19%$0.00
7.76%$0.386248
26.06%$0.432361
18.53%$0.384531
4.14%$1,966.31
-0.95%$0.385856
-4.28%$0.340282
2.46%$0.250454
8.60%$0.71836
6.70%$1.005
0.14%$0.02541278
11.64%$97,634.00
-1.10%$0.370952
-8.15%$0.00636032
3.38%$3,552.12
0.49%$4.69
1.16%$0.896117
2.43%$0.03754374
-1.22%$0.03637882
5.89%$58.23
16.16%$0.515537
11.46%
Empire Market, the largest darknet marketplace, has been offline since August 22—and while initial reports suggested a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack was at fault, the continued downtime has stoked fears of a major exit scam.
A Twitter account @DarkDotFail, which claims to be from an anonymous journalist investigating privacy browser Tor, suggests that the administrators have disappeared with the funds accumulated within the site.
“With no explanation from its admins and no announcement from law enforcement, this looks like a devastating exit scam,” reads a tweet. “The darknet was in a golden age of trust. Expect a rough year of exit scams ahead as trust is rediscovered.”
@DarkDotFail says an Empire Market staff member, speaking under condition of anonymity, claims that site admins have gotten away with an estimated 2,638 BTC that was being held in escrow—or just over $30 million as of this writing.
And a recently posted screenshot from an apparent Empire moderator said, "I am crushed and ashamed by my admin's apparent decision to disappear with your funds."
"I believed in my leader through the very end. I still believe even now as irrational hope fades for their return." - Melbourne, Empire moderator and PR.
There's no indication that Empire staff knew or profited from the exit, but if you need to see a mod roasted log into Dread. pic.twitter.com/h3zpnM1fil
— dark.fail (@DarkDotFail) August 26, 2020
Empire Market popped up in January 2018 after the AlphaBay marketplace shuttered, and grew to an estimated 1.3 million users. However, that popularity reportedly came with increased challenges in the form of DDoS attacks and “obsessive doxx attempts by a banned vendor,” the account claims.
The darknet marketplace has been down and admins have been AWOL before, only to suddenly return. But this stretch may be the longest the site has ever been dark.
Regardless of whether the exit is part of an unscrupulous scam or due to administrator fatigue, Empire's fall seems to be permanent.
Darknet marketplaces often end in turmoil, sometimes due to government takedowns (like Silk Road and Wall Street Market) or exit scams (such as Evolution). @DarkDotFail suggests there were eight such exit scams in 2019 following the closure of Wall Street Market.
Bleeping Computer spoke with Israeli cyber threat intelligence monitoring firm KELA, which suggested that recent discussion on darknet forums shows Empire Market users are likely to turn to alternative markets such as Icarus, White House Market, Versus, and Wickr.
