Despite the infamous shutdown of the Silk Road in 2013, Darknet Activity has continued to climb in recent years. In 2018, $603m worth bitcoin were used to trade illicit goods and services - with activity late in the year matching peak levels from early 2017.
In its latest Crypto Crime Report, published earlier this week, blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports that darknet market activity has nearly doubled throughout 2018. After a slump in late 2017 and early 2018 due to the closure of two major online marketplaces for illicit activity — AlphaBay and Hansa — volume has since almost completely recovered to early-2017’s all-time high levels, surpassing $600 million worth of bitcoin for the year.