Abacus Market has so far been the world’s largest Bitcoin-based darknet marketplace. It operated from Western countries. But recently, it has suddenly disappeared. Experts believe this might be an exit scam.
According to a report from TRM Labs, Abacus’s clearnet mirror site is no longer accessible. TRM suspects that the operators may have fled with users’ funds and shut down the entire operation.
However, TRM Labs also mentioned that law enforcement surveillance could be a major reason behind the shutdown. After Archetyp Market closed in mid-June, Abacus Market’s monthly sales started to decline. Archetyp had been a long-standing darknet marketplace.
At the end of June, users started facing problems withdrawing funds. When they complained, they were told by a user named Vito that it was due to a surge of new users and a type of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.
Despite these assurances, users began leaving the site rapidly. In the last weeks of June, daily deposits significantly decreased. In early June, there were around $230,000 in daily deposits on average, but between June 28 and July 10, it dropped to just $13,000.
Abacus mainly sold various illegal drugs such as stimulants, psychedelics, and unapproved pharmaceuticals, among others. They used a centralized deposit wallet, accepting both Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR).
Was Success Their Downfall?
Abacus was one of the world’s largest and most popular Bitcoin-based darknet marketplaces. In June, Abacus’s sales reached $6.3 million, the highest in its history. This surge came after Europol shut down the long-standing Archetyp Market on June 16, 2024, which led many users to move to Abacus.
Earlier, in July 2023, when ASAP Market voluntarily closed, Abacus’s monthly trading volume had increased by 20%.
The reality is that marketplaces that reach the top in terms of user numbers and reputation usually become the primary targets of law enforcement.
In the past four years, Abacus sold around $100 million worth of Bitcoin. However, TRM Labs stated that since Monero is a privacy coin, the actual transaction volume might be between $300 million and $400 million.
Profit and Risk of Punishment
TRM Labs suggested that the operators of Abacus might have lost motivation or decided to leave the ecosystem to protect their freedom and funds. After Archetyp Market’s seizure, the influx of new users significantly increased Abacus’s profile, thereby increasing the risk as well.
They might have considered a “safe exit.” Analyzing some previous incidents clarifies this further. Markets like ASAP and Agora voluntarily closed at one point. Among them, some markets like Evolution Market executed exit scams. As a result, they avoided getting caught by law enforcement and managed to escape safely.
Conclusion
In the past, some markets were suddenly shut down, and news of their seizure surfaced later. The same could happen with Abacus. However, TRM Labs further mentioned that the administrator of the well-known dark web forum Dread, who was closely associated with the Abacus team, denied the possibility of law enforcement seizure.
