Bitcoin-powered Abacus market Suspected as Exit Scam

Abacus Market has been shut down in what appears to be an exit scam. 

TRM Labs’ website, infrastructure and clearnet mirror are not accessible. said In a Monday report. TRM believes that the disappearance led to their belief. “operators have likely conducted an exit scam, shutting down operations and disappearing with users’ funds.” 

TRM Labs stated that the closing could have been the result of law enforcement attention, since Abacus Market had a record-breaking month after the close of Archetyp Market. one of the longest-running dark web marketplacesIn mid-June. 

Users began to report withdrawal issues in late June. This prompted Abacus’ administrator, known by his handle “Vito” It is important to reassure users that these problems are simply the result of the influx and newcomers. distributed denial-of-service attack. 

“This behavior was consistent with known exit scam patterns seen across other darknet markets.”

Despite the guarantee, users began to flee in great numbers. In the final weeks of the month, daily deposits decreased from $230,000 on average per day for most of June down to $13,000 daily between June 28 and July 10  

Abacus was a supplier of illicit drugs such as stimulants, psychedelics and unlicensed medicines. central deposit wallet Bitcoin and Ethereum (BTCMonero –XMR). 

It is possible that the shutdown was due to success

Abacus is one of the most popular darknet markets that deals in Bitcoin.

Europol shuttered one of the longest-running dark web marketplacesArchetyp Market’s users flooded Abacus on June 16th, resulting in the highest monthly sales of $6.3 Million.

Abacus saw a similar increase of 20% in volume after the voluntary closing of ASAP Market in July 2023. 

Incognito Market’s market share in the Western dark markets that support Bitcoin has also increased to 70% following the shutdown of ASAP and the seizure Incognito Market by the law enforcement agencies in March 2024.

TRM Labs reported that when dark markets collapse, users usually migrate to another platform. “large and reputable market.” 

“Marketplaces that reach the top of the ecosystem, in terms of volume, user base, listings, and reputation, often become priority targets for law enforcement,” TRM Labs said. 

Abacus has generated over $100,000,000 in Bitcoin during its first four years.BTCTRM Labs stated that they were unable to sell the product because of this. privacy coin Monero accounted If you have a lot of sales it could total between $300 to $400 million.

Profit without any consequences for the peers 

TRMLabs believes that Abacus operators may have had also “lost motivation to continue” You can choose to leave the ecosystem “preserve their freedom and financial gains.”

“Faced with the decision between profit-seeking and self-preservation, Abacus’s admins likely chose the latter in light of Archetyp’s seizure and the surge in new users that elevated Abacus’s profile.” 

Former administrators at other dark markets who have voluntarily left, for example, those from ASAP Market or Agora Market conducted exit scamsTRM Labs claims that Evolution Market was able to escape from law enforcement. 

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The darknet market may have already been seized 

TRM labs believes there is a possibility that the law enforcement agencies have secretly taken over the market and they are keeping mum about it while they collect evidence and try to track down the individuals involved. 

The firm said that the administrator of a dark-web discussion forum called Dread who had been in contact with Abacus’ team has cast doubts on the involvement of law enforcement. 

“In some cases, such as Nemesis Market’s exit, official seizure notices have appeared months after a DNM [darknet market] has gone offline,” TRM added.

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