Hydra rules, Monero adoption rises, Russian government agreements questioned – Bitcoin News
At the end of 2020, darknet markets (DNM) set new records as marketplaces like the White House and the Russian-speaking DNM Hydra came out on top. A report released on May 25 shows that Hydra had a 624% year-over-year growth rate in three years, and researchers estimate that roughly 75% of illegal DNM transactions come from the Russian market. In addition, the data protection coin Monero is much more accepted by the vendors these days at DNMs. On June 29th, monero achieved 84% of supplier acceptance on three of the top marketplaces.
The complex Russian darknet market Hydra eclipses 26 marketplaces
While the cryptocurrency markets have depreciated, the use of the darknet markets has continued to increase. DNMs managed to stay lucrative during Covid-19, and statistics showed DNM usage flourished while the world was locked.
Many DNMs are up and running today as reports and data show that the two largest darknet markets are Hydra and the White House Market. Other notable DNMs in the second half of 2021 include Cannazon, Cannahome, Torrez Market, Dark0de Reborn Market, Vice City, Aurora, and the Majestic Garden.
At the end of May, blockchain forensics companies Chainalysis and Flashpoint Threat Intelligence released a report delving deep into the rise of Hydra. The report, titled Hydra: Where Cryptocurrency Roads All Lead to Russia and Go Dark, explains how Hydra administrators impose strict rules on sellers using the DNM.
Despite Hydra’s strict rules, the report highlights that Hydra remains consistently profitable. In addition, supplier withdrawals will be routed through Russian exchanges and service operators, the report said. The Flashpoint and Chainalysis Report adds:
Activity in the Hydra market has skyrocketed since its inception, with annual transaction volume growing from a total of $ 9.40 million in 2016 to north of $ 1.37 billion by the end of 2020. Using the blockchain analysis, we see an amazing 624% YoY growth rate for Hydra over the past three years, 2018 through 2020.
Monero’s adoption of DNMs continues to grow
Darknet tracker data from the blockchain analysis provider 1000x Group shows that around 27 DNMs are in operation today. Nine of the markets only accept BTC, five markets accept BTC and a variety of coins, eleven markets accept BTC and Monero (XMR), and two markets only accept XMR. Bitcoin-only markets include Darkfox, Hydra, Vice City, Aurora, Majestic Garden, Neptune, Mega, Global Dreams, and Flugsvamp 3.0. Meanwhile, marketplaces dedicated to Monero are just the White House Market and the Archetype Market.
As one of the top markets like Hydra, the White House Market (WHM) also has strict rules and only Monero Acceptance (XMR) is one of them. WHM also requires 2FA, the use of PGP, and the site has been hit by DDOS attacks many times over the years. The DNM has thousands of providers and claims to have more than a million users by 2021. WHM gained a large number of customers and vendors after the fall of the Dream Market and today more than 50,000 products are listed. The DNM White House Market also makes a 4% commission on everything sold on the deep web portal.
Statistics show that Monero (XMR) has seen significant increases in vendor adoption across three specific fully functional DNMs. While BTC still dominates on DNMs, XMR enjoys considerable adoption in these markets. DNM tracker data shows that in the last two weeks of May, adoption of XMR providers was over 50%.
In the first two weeks of June, Monero fell below the 50% mark, hitting a low of 37.60% on June 8th. However, Monero vendor acceptance rose to 84% on June 29 and has been above the 50% region since then. When Monero saw a low in mid-June, there was a higher percentage of Litecoin (LTC) at the time. The provider acceptance rate tracks the provider acceptance by Versus Market, Cannahome and Cannazon.
Does Hydra have a semi-official sanction from Russian leaders?
With Hydra now becoming one of the largest DNMs in the world after overtaking the older Russian DNM ramp, Joe Biden’s administration is focused on Russia’s commitment to these types of actors. Biden has spoken to the press about Russia and wants Russia to take action against cyber threats like ransomware.
Following the attack on the Colonial Pipeline and the break in Kaseya, Biden told the press that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Biden said he told Putin to “take action” against these cyber actors.
“I made it very clear [Vladmir Putin] that the United States expects if a ransomware operation comes off its soil even though it’s not sponsored by the state, we expect them to act if we give them enough information to act, ”Biden said this week.
Now the ransomware is a thing, but Bloomberg agent Leonid Bershidsky believes it is possible that Hydra could receive some sort of “semi-official sanction” from Russian leaders. Bershidsky notes in a recent article that Russia’s “hydra, its krysha, or shelter, is the elephant in the room.” The author explains that Putin has no real incentive to take action against DNMs, and he also believes that “US retaliation is not compelling enough.” Bershidsky’s opinion guide concludes:
As things stand, Putin can have people like Hydra take care of that prospect. And when they are crushed, others can take their place. The dark web is nothing but resilient.
What do you think of the increased use of darknet markets and the growth of Hydra? What do you think of Monero vendors gaining acceptance of DNMs as well? Let us know what you think on this matter in the comments below.
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source https://bidsfor.me/hydra-rules-monero-adoption-rises-russian-government-agreements-questioned-bitcoin-news/
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