Abacus dark web drug market goes offline in suspected exit scam
In what is believed to be an exit fraud, Abacus Market, the biggest darknet marketplace in the West that accepts Bitcoin payments, has shut down its public infrastructure.
Exit scams happen when a marketplace operator chooses to disappear with the funds they have in escrow for different platform user transactions.
According to blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, Abacus' sudden shutdown has all the makings of an exit fraud or a clandestine law enforcement operation destroying the enterprise.
In the past, authorities have carried out "silent" takedowns without making any statements in order to facilitate investigations, obtain further incriminating evidence, or find accomplices.
Since its September 2021 inception as "Alphabet Market," Abacus has grown in prominence, partic...