Users started reporting withdrawal issues and delays, prompting concern on darknet forums. When factoring in Monero, the untraceable cryptocurrency used for most of the platform’s trades, total sales are believed to have exceeded $300 million. The marketplace, once a bustling hub of activity, had turned into a ghost town. By early July 2024, transactions on the marketplace had significantly declined, further confirming the growing suspicion that something was seriously amiss. Users who had relied on the platform for months were left in the dark, with no official statement regarding its closure.
Abacus Market Disappears In Suspected Exit Scam After Handling $300 Million In Darknet Transactions
Enable PGP 2FA immediately for maximum security. For additional security, connect to a reputable VPN service before launching Tor. This is essential for accessing .onion sites like Abacus Market.
By 2024, it had undergone a rebranding and solidified its position as the dominant marketplace for illegal goods and services in the West, handling a staggering 70% of all darknet market activity. The events surrounding its disappearance have raised many questions about the future of darknet marketplaces. Classic darknet markets sell diverse illegal goods; data stores focus on leaked or stolen data like credentials, databases, and ID records.
Create Your Account
They use the special ".onion" top-level domain, which is not part of the regular internet DNS system. Onion services (formerly known as "hidden services") are websites or services that can be accessed through the Tor network. Our project helps researchers, privacy-focused users, and professionals quickly find secure access points to various information resources in today's complex digital landscape. Abacus Market stands out with its advanced security features, including DDoS protection and a stable server network. Explore frequently asked questions or check recent market updates to stay informed.
China-based Vendors And Novel Synthetic Opioids
Fraud shops are services found mainly on the dark web that sell stolen data and personally identifiable information (PII), which cybercriminals use for scams, identity theft, and ransomware attacks. The Reactor graph below shows this vendor’s connection with drug vendors on Abacus Market. This increase may be due in part to the closures of top DNMs, the shift to the exclusive acceptance of XMR by other active markets, and delistings of XMR by popular centralized exchanges.
TRM Labs assesses that the marketplace’s operators have likely conducted an exit scam, shutting down operations and disappearing with users’ funds. With the increasing pressure from law enforcement and the uncertainty surrounding the future of darknet marketplaces, it is not hard to see why Abacus’s admins might have chosen to exit the scene. In an exit scam, the administrator takes the marketplace offline and makes off with the funds from users' accounts, leaving customers high and dry. This sort of problem is a common precursor to exit scams, where administrators shut down a marketplace and abscond with users' funds. Historically, the fall of large marketplaces often results in rapid migration to newer, more lightweight markets—many of which themselves prove to be short-lived due to security flaws, scams, or enforcement action. Abacus Market, once the dominant darknet marketplace operating in the Western world, has gone offline under suspicious circumstances, leading to widespread speculation of a coordinated exit scam.
Advanced Security
Historically, DNMs have usually cashed out their funds at centralized exchanges (CEXs). In late June 2025, Abacus users reported withdrawal issues and decreasing trust in the platform. These efforts helped it become one of the most active platforms among Australian users.
© All Rights Reserved Official Abacus Market Onion Link
TRM Labs analysis shows that nearly half of the marketplaces launched in 2024 accepted only Monero — a sharp increase from just over one-third in 2023. In late June 2025, users began reporting withdrawal issues with Abacus Market, which typically indicates an impending exit scam. Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports that Abacus shutting down so abruptly has all the indications of either an exit scam or a covert law enforcement operation dismantling the activity.
- The platform also requires users to create a PIN for additional security.
- If you ever decide to explore the dark web, protecting your identity is crucial.
- As reported last year, some drug shops have been outsourcing services like website hosting and payment processing.
- The disappearance has led TRM to believe the “operators have likely conducted an exit scam, shutting down operations and disappearing with users’ funds.”
- Just visiting the dark web, or using a tool like Tor, isn’t illegal in most countries.
How Do Dark Web Marketplaces Work
But don’t worry about your safety in this respect, the platform was built from scratch (at least, according to its admins). The platform was initially launched as AlphaBet in early 2020, but the admins decided to change its name to Abacus in September 2021 to avoid being confused with the recently rebooted AlphaBay. In the volatile environment of the dark web, making long-term plans usually is not a feasible strategy. It is already not a small market, but it strives to soon expand and evolve. For now, the uncertainty continues, with users left to wonder whether Abacus will recover—or if their money is already gone. Vendors, who rely on timely withdrawals to access their earnings, are particularly worried, with some claiming their funds are now stuck in escrow.
A series of law enforcement takedowns in the last few years have shaped the 2024 drug and fraud ecosystems. Daily deposits dropped by over 90% in the final weeks, despite reassurances from its administrator. As a result, law enforcement has adopted an intelligence-led enforcement strategy incorporating DNM takedowns into longer-term investigations rather than treating them as end goals. Furthermore, after four years of operating and generating substantial profits, the admins likely lost motivation to continue and chose to exit the ecosystem to 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. Archetyp’s recent takedown followed this pattern and likely influenced Abacus’s trajectory.
Accepting both Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR), unlike competitors like Archetyp and DrugHub that only accept XMR. OptionalOptional multisignature transactions provide an extra layer of security for high-value purchases. All transactions use our secure escrow system, holding funds until you confirm delivery of your order. Military-grade encryption, mandatory PGP 2FA, and auto-logout features protect your account from unauthorized access. Abacus Market has undergone multiple security audits by top penetration testing firms, achieving a perfect 10/10 security rating.
Signs of instability began to surface in late June 2025 as users reported difficulties withdrawing funds from their accounts. Unlike some emerging markets that focused exclusively on Monero (XMR), a privacy-centric cryptocurrency, Abacus supported transactions in both Monero and Bitcoin. Abacus Market represents a new era, next generation marketplace. Knowledge of .onion site uptime is important to many cybersecurity researchers. It’s your way into Abacus Market—verified onion URLs that hook you up to a dark web Shop spot.
Even as major darknet platforms fall, TRM Labs data shows that the ecosystem remains highly adaptive. However, when a DNM collapses — especially a large and reputable market — its users typically migrate to the nearest available platform. This signals a growing preference among darknet operators for obfuscation and anti-surveillance tools.
In 2024, its share surged to over 70%, following ASAP Market’s voluntary closure in July, 2023 and the law enforcement seizure of Incognito Market in March, 2024. In 2022, it ranked as the fourth largest Bitcoin-supporting Western DNM with 10% of market share, rising to 17% in 2023. Since its inception, Abacus Market has gradually increased its market share in the Western DNM ecosystem. Unlike competitors, such as Archetyp, DrugHub, ASAP Market, and Incognito Market, Abacus operated as a central deposit wallet, multisignature DNM that supported both Bitcoin and Monero. At publishing time there is no indication that Abacus has been taken down by law enforcement but this scenario is not to be ruled out yet. In the days that followed, Abacus Market’s entire online infrastructure, including its clearnet mirror, went offline without a seizure banner or any indication that law enforcement was involved.
Abacus is a next-generation darknet marketplace designed for privacy, security, and ease of use. Your funds and data are always protected on Abacus, with security standards matching the best abacus market practices. Just like the abacus market darknet approach, your privacy is our top priority. The vacuum left by Abacus’s exit is expected to cause significant reshuffling in the darknet landscape, as displaced users seek out alternative platforms. However, some users have pointed out occasional stock shortages for popular items and slightly higher prices compared to other darknet markets. In the ever-evolving world of darknet markets, Abacus has become a prominent platform.
Here’s the real deal—onion links that get you to Abacus Market without the runaround. Need a straight shot into the dark web? You can find a wide range of products and services on Tor2door.
TRM will continue to closely monitor the evolving DNM landscape, including emerging platforms, vendor migration patterns, and on-chain activity, to support efforts to disrupt illicit actors and safeguard the broader crypto ecosystem. Cases like Nemesis Market and Monopoly Market indicate that law enforcement agencies now prefer to take down DNMs without announcing it publicly — and potentially alerting vendors under investigation. Furthermore, following Archetyp’s law enforcement seizure in June, 2025, many of its users flooded Abacus Market, leading to the latter’s largest ever monthly sales volume of USD 6.3 million in June 2025. Dread’s administrator, Hugbunter — who was in close contact with the Abacus team — believes Abacus’s disappearance was not the result of a law enforcement action.
This market offers a variety of goods and services, including drugs, weapons, counterfeit documents, and other illegal goods. Bohemia is an online marketplace accessible only through the anonymous Tor network. Incognito is one of the most famous and popular markets on the Darknet. Customers praise the platform for its vast product selection, high security standards, and responsive customer support.
