According to Table 11, the number of publications related to SDG 16 has increased by over 300% in the last decade, with a particularly steep increase in the last few years. This is a possible healthy sign that researchers are more aware of SDG. For SDG 3, the number of publications increased only after 2015, when SDGs were formally adopted. The total number of publications for the ten years is 59, and the overall growth rate is 633%.
Trade Craft
The sale, acquisition, movement, and diversion of arms, their parts and ammunition from legal to illegal commerce and/or across borders. Illicit activity involving coercion, deception, abduction or fraud for the purpose of exploitation, regardless of the victim’s consent. A series of 13 discussion papers, one for each illicit market considered during the development of the Index.
- The integration of blockchain-based smart contracts is also becoming widespread, automating secure transactions and reducing the likelihood of fraud.
- Therefore, most cybersecurity experts recommend using Monero while shopping on darknet markets.
- This early detection allows organizations to identify and respond to threats quickly, reducing the chances of unauthorized access, financial loss, or damage to brand reputation.
- Although rare, there have been instances in which journalists have been threatened with violence.
- You can find featured listings on the homepage and browse the products of your choice.
Abacus Upgrades
N 2025, dark web websites frequently change domains and are often short-lived. Accessing them may require .onion links and the Tor browser, but caution is advised due to legality and cybersecurity risks. Believe it or not, some dark web marketplaces have pretty advanced systems for building trust.
- There is evidence that Albanian organized criminals interact with foreign crime groups from Kosovo and Montenegro, as well as South and Central American cartels.
- It can also be used as a platform to promote online health scams, misleading people into buying fake or ineffective treatments and discouraging people from seeking legitimate medical care.
- Bibliometrics, or statistical analysis to measure the impact and importance of scholarly research, has several limitations.
- This browser enables access to websites with .onion domain extensions, which are specific to the Tor network.
- This research used a machine learning technique called “ToRank” to identify and rank the most influential domains based on their activity and connections to other domains 84.
- Bohemia is a modern dark web marketplace with a great user interface that is easy to use and navigate.
Does The Darknet Still Exist?
The layers of encryption hide your data and activity from snooping eyes. In the first arc of the anime series Lupin the 3rd Part V, Lupin III steals digital currency from the “Marco Polo” darknet market. Whilst a great many products are sold, drugs dominate the numbers of listings, with the drugs including cannabis, MDMA, modafinil,108109110 LSD, cocaine, and designer drugs.
Established in 2022, Torzon market is one of the biggest and most diverse marketplaces on the dark web. It is considered very secure thanks to strict user validations and transparent payment and vendor review procedures. Its focus on financial fraud and high-value transactions has attracted a dedicated user base, contributing to its growing reputation and market value. STYX Market focuses specifically on financial fraud, making it a go-to destination for cybercriminals engaged in this activity. This article reveals the top 10 dark web markets dominating in 2025, their unique characteristics, and the critical implications for enterprise cybersecurity.
Darknet FAQ

In 2025, it powers 2.5M+ daily users, with Germany leading in usage (followed by the U.S.). Bibliometrics, or statistical analysis to measure the impact and importance of scholarly research, has several limitations. First, bibliometrics can be influenced by factors such as the prestige of the journals in which research is published, the language in which it is written, and the number of authors on a paper 86.

What’s The Benefit Of Escrow Security?
The clearnet is the regular internet you’re used to using, where network traffic origins are fairly easy to pinpoint. Look for ratings below 90% or no escrow—common red flags on markets like Torrez. Download Tor Browser from torproject.org—your entry to the onion network. The top performers of 2025, ranked by trade volume and market influence. Bitcoin’s blockchain is too leaky these days, and markets like Archetyp going Monero-only prove it.

Criminal Justice And Security
We observe that post-2015, when SDGs were adopted, publications and citations nearly doubled 51. The data suggests that the field of Darkweb research has grown and become more established over the past decade, with an increasing number of researchers conducting and citing research on the topic. Bibliometric analysis serves as a method to discern patterns, themes, and shifts within a particular realm of research. It also facilitates the identification of the most prolific institutions, authors, and countries engaged in that research domain. Researchers employ bibliometric analysis to examine subjects and nations in their studies 30, 31, 32,33.
It contains 40,000+ listings for illegal products (mostly) and is worth an estimated $15 million, so it’s one of the largest markets out there. These markets are dangerous anyway and shouldn’t be accessed even if they’ve onion addresses. The marketplace supports multiple payment methods, including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Cryptocheck. They add new batches of stolen data every other week, and there’s even a bidding system where buyers can place offers on new data batches as soon as they become available.

It had more than 600,000 users worldwide and 17,000 listings consisting mainly of illicit drugs including MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine. The Darkweb and SDG 16 have an inverse relationship, as the former undermines the latter. The Darkweb is often used for illegal activities such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, and arms trafficking, which directly contradicts the goal of SDG 16 to promote peaceful and inclusive societies. The illegal activities facilitated by the Darkweb can lead to increased organized crime, money laundering, and corruption, eroding the rule of law and good governance.
If you fall for it and log in, they immediately steal your credentials and either sell or use them for other scams. One of the things STYX is infamous for is having a rigorous verification process for users that makes it seem more exclusive. They even have a Telegram channel to provide their clients with live updates. Like most of the markets, STYX supports Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), and other crypto tokens to keep everyone’s identity hidden on this marketplace.
Research on the Darkweb could provide insights into cybercrime, illicit trade, and other activities that could undermine peace and stability. In our study, we created a co-citation map to uncover the linkages between SDG as measured through citations. The proximity between SDGs indicates how similar they are in co-citation frequency, meaning that publications from two SDGs are often cited together in the same set of publications. The nodes’ size represents the SDG frequency in terms of total publications, and the thickness of the edges represents the frequency of co-citation between SDG.
Common Scams On Dark Web Marketplaces
Drugs dominate, but digital goods are picking up—ties into the Telegram trend with side hustles. They’re talking AI search tools for 2025, which sounds slick—finding stuff could get way faster. Incognito’s all about keeping things easy and safe—perfect if you’re avoiding street buys. What sets them apart is their support—real-time chat that’s saved my bacon a couple times when a deal went sideways.
Consumption of the drug is considered in determining the reach of the criminal market. The illicit extraction, smuggling, mingling, bunkering or mining of natural resources and the illicit trade of such commodities. The poaching, illicit trade in and possession of species covered by CITES and other species protected by national law. The illicit trade and possession of species covered by CITES convention, and other species protected under national law. The market is especially well-known for providing access to freshly compromised data, often obtained from recent breaches and stealer logs. Since its inception, the market has catered to criminals looking for high-quality counterfeit items, such as fake IDs, passports, and branded luxury goods.