What was the impact of the closure of silk road 1.0

What impact did the closure of Silk Road 1.0 have on the 'hidden web' online drug markets


Comments


[19 Points] hugsfordrugs:

Short Term

  1. Scared many vendors and buyers into hiding and lurking, waiting to see the aftermath.

  2. Opened the door for a flood of new markets to set up shop.

  3. Drilled home the reality that no market is invincible and we all have to make efforts at maintaining OPSEC and anonymity.

  4. Sparked a 5-month clusterfuck of scamming market admins, poorly-designed sites, and a general chaos in the DNM scene.

Long Term

  1. Opened the market up for not just one large, dominant market, but several.

  2. Can be indirectly attributed to the emergence of multi-sig escrow, due to the many scam markets that popped up after its seizure.

  3. I'd wager that the average DNM buyer is more knowledgeable about security, OPSEC, savvy buying practices, etc due to the large number of various markets and the amount of information now available.

EDIT: Hey why hasn't anyone mentioned the "cutting the head off the hydra" yet? LMAO y'all need to start being original.

EDIT2: Changed 3 month to 5 month. Longer clusterfuck.


[2 Points] t3hk4hn:

dude.


[1 Points] None:

Truly was a hydra situation. From 2 (BMR and SR) came four, which came 16 and so forth. Some of the major vendors went underground for a period and some simply reinvented themselves. Very few actually quit.

The influx of new users took about 2 weeks. Then it was a flood. Look back at this subs history around that time period and you'll see a HUGE increase in basic questions concerning the DNM's.

The current market situation is better in my opinion. Diversification is the key now. If one goes down, the overall market isn't truly affected. Most vendors are actually on 2 or more markets.

For a minute it looked as if individual vendor markets were going to be the new thing but no one stepped up with turn-key sites and the tech eluded most vendors to do it themselves. Now it's starting to look like product specialization might be a possibility. Cannabis Road, The Majestic Gardens, and BlackBank (which doesn't strike out to specialize but all the H vendors have seemed to flock there) all have their respective products.

Multisig looked to be another hero that didn't get widely accepted like most thought. The ability for vendors to receive their funds and buyers to be ensured that their product they've paid for is shipped could have been accomplished with it in case of market failure (seizure or scam). Once again, even though it is available it's rarely used. Even the markets that offer it rarely have vendor listings with it as an option. Once again, implementation is the issue. The only market to really put effort into it was TMP. Unfortunately, the perceived difficulty with 12p deterred most users and buyers away from it.


[1 Points] None:

BTW, of the INEF? You interest in Irish vendors and a podcast concerning the relative subjects leads me to believe so.


[1 Points] None:

[deleted]


[1 Points] gerundive:

It destroyed the illusion of invincibility, and replaced the arrogance of DPR1 with the paranoia of DPR2.


[1 Points] mondo_condo:

Cast out of Eden and into the world, cursed to be plagued by three-letter-agencies and unscrupulous admins.


[1 Points] None:

ITT: Hydra


[1 Points] glandofbartholin:

It removed the veneer of invicibility from DNMs, a lot of people using SR1 got complacent (including me, sending unencrypted addresses and such), and therefore stopped using DNMs for a while afterward. If the biggest can go down, any can and this hopefully has lead to increased security for other markets now. New markets wouldn't have dared started while SR1 was active, as they would have gotten absolutely nowhere. It was as perfect a market as you could have while it was going, unfortunately all of that faith was placed in an individual who allegedly didn't use proper OPSEC, can't have vetted his contacts properly and allegedly ordered murders and ended up getting caught red handed (logged into his SR1 "mastermind" account: http://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/4469df60c53923a61b5a3e1c02cad300/0x600.jpg?fit=scale&background=000000) because of this. SR1 was the original high feature, multi vendor market with a well sussed out currency for payment that was as anonymous as you could get, without being centralised (unlike other markets using PayPal and other similar fiat payment systems).

At least the legacy is that there are more buyers informed about proper OPSEC and use of PGP etc. A bit of heightened paranoia is a good thing for the scene in the long run.

I miss SR1.


[0 Points] the_system_is_broken:

It opened the door wide open to market places run by LE. Perhaps even the majority are? I wouldn't expect a wholesale take down, but opsec for buyers is pretty much non-existent if you're a repeat customer. If you're a vendor, do not assume they don't coordinate with postal services, but understand they're primarily after people who interfere with the mission of harm reduction.

Without pointing fingers, let me just assert LE is hyperactive on this sub. I know things you would not believe, but can't comment with specifics. Be safe out there! Hugs to all!