Abacus Market, the largest Western darknet marketplace supporting Bitcoin payments, has suddenly gone offline in a suspected exit scam.
The abrupt shutdown, which affected all public infrastructure, including the site’s clearnet mirror, left no trace of law enforcement action, raising concerns among users and researchers.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says the platform’s disappearance bears the hallmarks of either a planned exit scam or a silent takedown by authorities. Exit scams typically involve marketplace operators vanishing with user funds held in escrow.
Abacus began in 2021 as Alphabet Market and grew rapidly as law enforcement dismantled rival platforms. It dominated the darknet scene by 2024, accounting for 70 percent of Western market traffic. TRM Labs estimates it facilitated nearly 100 million dollars in Bitcoin transactions, and up to 300 million dollars when including Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
The market’s decline became noticeable in early July, when user complaints about withdrawal delays spiked. Daily deposits dropped from 230 thousand dollars across 1,400 transactions to just 13 thousand dollars and 100 transactions. Although the platform’s administrator blamed the slowdown on new user influx and a DDoS attack, trust quickly eroded.
At the time of reporting, there is no official confirmation of law enforcement involvement. However, both an exit scam and a covert takedown remain possible explanations.
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