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{{#seo:|keywords=darknet timeline, darknet market history, darknet market seizures, silk road, alphabay, hydra, hansa, bohemia, archetyp, incognito, dream market, empire market, dread, darknet news, dark web history, darkipedia}} | |||
{{#seo:|description=The Darkipedia Darknet Timeline: every major darknet event from Silk Road in 2011 to today — launches, seizures, exit scams, arrests and infrastructure takedowns, all linked to in-depth wiki pages.}} | |||
{{#seo:|title=Darknet Timeline {{!}} Darkipedia: History of the Darknet}} | |||
<strong>The Darknet Timeline</strong> | |||
Every major event in darknet history — launches, law enforcement seizures, exit scams, arrests and infrastructure takedowns — from the launch of [[Markets: Silk Road (v1)|Silk Road]] in 2011 up to today. Entries marked with a page link take you to our full write-up on that market, forum, service or person, where you'll find onion addresses, PGP keys and the complete story. | |||
<pre>Quick facts: The timeline covers 15 years of darknet history. The bloodiest single day was 5 April 2022, when Hydra Market was seized. The longest-running market was Archetyp (2020-2025). The most profitable exit scam remains Empire Market (August 2020).</pre> | |||
<strong>Jump to a year:</strong> [[#2025|2025]] · [[#2024|2024]] · [[#2023|2023]] · [[#2022|2022]] · [[#2021|2021]] · [[#2020|2020]] · [[#2019|2019]] · [[#2018|2018]] · [[#2017|2017]] · [[#2016|2016]] · [[#2015|2015]] · [[#2014|2014]] · [[#2013|2013]] · [[#2012|2012]] · [[#2011|2011]] · [[#2010|2010]] | |||
This timeline was researched and documented by the Darknet community itself — thank you to every community member who reported, verified and shared these events as they happened. If you spot something missing or incorrect, get in touch and help us keep the record straight. | |||
== 2025 == | == 2025 == | ||
* <strong>20th November:</strong> Reddit bans and erases Dread administrator HugBunter's account — see [[Defunct: HugBunter|HugBunter]] | |||
* <strong>14th July:</strong> [[Markets: Abacus|Abacus Market]] vanishes in a suspected exit scam | |||
* <strong>6th July:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] suffers an extended outage amid DDoS attacks; HugBunter publishes PGP-signed status updates | |||
* <strong>16th June:</strong> [[Markets: Archetyp|Archetyp Market]] seized in Operation Deep Sentinel — administrator arrested in Barcelona, €7.8M in assets seized. Full story: [[Timeline:Archetyp|Timeline: Archetyp]] | |||
* <strong>5th June:</strong> BidenCash carding market seized, approximately 145 domains taken down | |||
* <strong>22nd May:</strong> Operation RapTor announced — 270 arrests and €184M+ in cash and cryptocurrency seized | |||
* <strong>7th March:</strong> Garantex crypto exchange seized, Tether freezes $28M in USDT | |||
== 2024 == | == 2024 == | ||
* <strong>16th December:</strong> [[Markets: Incognito|Incognito Market]] owner pleads guilty — full story: [[Timeline:Incognito|Timeline: Incognito]] | |||
== 2023 == | * <strong>10th October:</strong> Dutch police announce the dismantling of [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia]]/Cannabia — €8M in crypto seized, two administrators arrested. Full story: [[Timeline:Bohemia|Timeline: Bohemia]] | ||
5th April: | * <strong>6th May:</strong> Incognito Market owner "Pharaoh" (Rui-Siang Lin) arrested at JFK Airport | ||
* <strong>21st March:</strong> Nemesis Market seized by German BKA/Frankfurt ZIT with US and Lithuanian partners | |||
5th March: Dread Relaunches < | * <strong>March:</strong> [[Markets: Incognito|Incognito Market]] shuts down amid a law enforcement seizure | ||
14th February: AlphaBay | |||
20th January: Kilos Exchange | == 2023 == | ||
3rd January: Deutschland.im Deep Web | * <strong>20th December:</strong> Kingdom Market has been seized | ||
* <strong>18th December:</strong> Speculation in regards to Kingdom market being likely seized | |||
* <strong>24th November:</strong> Monumental update to Tor Browser in regards to PoW access — see [[Proof of Work (PoW) defense for Onion Services is released|PoW defense for Onion Services]] | |||
* <strong>22nd November:</strong> Hugbunter sets out warning in regards to the wallet withdrawal issue | |||
* <strong>22nd November:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia Market]] reopens - supposedly | |||
* <strong>4th November:</strong> [[Markets:m00nkey Market|m00nkey]] is experiencing uncertainty due to disappearance | |||
* <strong>29th October:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia]] white-screen, said to be due to overwhelming DDOS | |||
* <strong>13th October:</strong> DNMX was raided | |||
* <strong>13th October:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia]] releases emergency link | |||
* <strong>12th October:</strong> Test4Pay proposition & removal of Steveirwin from /d/Test4Pay moderation due to arrest | |||
* <strong>12th October:</strong> [[Markets: Cypher|Cypher Market]] goes on maintenance | |||
* <strong>2nd October:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia]] receives a mega-thread, withdrawal problems remain questionable | |||
* <strong>2nd October:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia]] experiences wallet withdrawal bug | |||
* <strong>1st October:</strong> Raspberry Pi 5 is going to be released | |||
* <strong>24th September:</strong> Dark Matter moves from probationary list to the superlist | |||
* <strong>19th September:</strong> [[Markets: Tor2Door|Tor2Door]] sub-dread has been locked out until further notice | |||
* <strong>15th September:</strong> [[Markets: Tor2Door|Tor2Door]] experiences unusual downtime | |||
* <strong>14th September:</strong> [[Markets: Tor2Door|Tor2Door]] goes down and is confirmed as an exit scam | |||
* <strong>7th September:</strong> Searching on [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] now works | |||
* <strong>1st September:</strong> BigBossChefOfArchetyp publishes an open letter to governments and law enforcement | |||
* <strong>28th August:</strong> Dark Matter Market releases private shops | |||
* <strong>25th August:</strong> A bug on dnm.watch ([[Markets: Tor2Door|Tor2Door]] rotatory mirror) said "Warning!!! You are in a phishing website." for a link | |||
* <strong>22nd August:</strong> Searching on [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] has been going under work | |||
* <strong>21st June:</strong> BreachForums clearnet domain seized by the FBI | |||
* <strong>2nd May:</strong> Operation SpecTor announced — 288 arrests, the largest JCODE operation at the time, completing the [[Seized:Monopoly|Monopoly Market]] takedown | |||
* <strong>5th April:</strong> Genesis Market seized in Operation Cookie Monster — 17 countries, 119 arrests | |||
* <strong>15th March:</strong> BreachForums founder "pompompurin" (Conor Brian FitzPatrick) arrested | |||
* <strong>5th March:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] Relaunches | |||
* <strong>14th February:</strong> [[Markets: AlphaBay (v2)|AlphaBay (v2)]] exit scams | |||
* <strong>20th January:</strong> [[Services: Kilos|Kilos]] Exchange exit scams | |||
* <strong>3rd January:</strong> Deutschland.im Deep Web seized | |||
== 2022 == | == 2022 == | ||
9th June: Tor Network experiences a network-wide DDoS < | * <strong>23rd June:</strong> [[Seized:Monopoly|Monopoly Market]] was seized — full story: [[Timeline:Monopoly|Timeline: Monopoly]] | ||
June: [[Seized:SSNDOB|SSNDOB]] was seized < | * <strong>9th June:</strong> [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor Network]] experiences a network-wide DDoS | ||
26th May: VenTor | * <strong>June:</strong> [[Seized:SSNDOB|SSNDOB]] was seized — full story: [[Timeline:SSNDOB|Timeline: SSNDOB]] | ||
22nd May: Versus | * <strong>26th May:</strong> VenTor launched | ||
12th April: Dread | * <strong>22nd May:</strong> [[Markets: Versus|Versus Market]] retires | ||
6th April: xChange.me | * <strong>12th April:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] launches I2P mirror | ||
5th April: Hydra Market | * <strong>6th April:</strong> [[Services: xchange.me|xChange.me]] shuts down | ||
25th March: World Market | * <strong>5th April:</strong> [[Markets: Hydra|Hydra Market]] gets seized — the largest darknet market seizure in history | ||
8th March: Archetyp | * <strong>25th March:</strong> World Market exit scams | ||
7th March: Dread v3 | * <strong>8th March:</strong> [[Markets: Archetyp|Archetyp]] leaves Dread | ||
25th February: Dark0de Reborn | * <strong>7th March:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] v3 released | ||
16th February: Dread's 4 | * <strong>25th February:</strong> Dark0de Reborn exit scams | ||
28th January: DeepDotWeb | * <strong>16th February:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]]'s 4 year anniversary | ||
* <strong>28th January:</strong> [[News & Directories: DarkDotWeb|DeepDotWeb]] admin sentenced to 97 months in prison | |||
== 2021 == | == 2021 == | ||
30th December: Monopoly Market | * <strong>30th December:</strong> [[Seized:Monopoly|Monopoly Market]] disappears | ||
23rd December: Cartel Market | * <strong>23rd December:</strong> [[Markets: Cartel|Cartel Market]] disappears | ||
16th December: ToRReZ Market | * <strong>16th December:</strong> ToRReZ Market retires | ||
8th December: Someone is | * <strong>8th December:</strong> Someone is running hundreds of malicious [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor]] relays | ||
27th November: Shredd | * <strong>27th November:</strong> Shredd launched | ||
23rd November: Cannazon Market | * <strong>23rd November:</strong> [[Markets: CannaZon|Cannazon Market]] retires | ||
19th October: Dread's | * <strong>26th October:</strong> Operation Dark HunTOR announced — 150 arrests across 8 countries | ||
16th October: Envoy | * <strong>19th October:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]]'s search goes offline | ||
6th October: PGP.fail | * <strong>16th October:</strong> Envoy relaunched | ||
1st October: White House Market | * <strong>6th October:</strong> PGP.fail launched | ||
27th September: Abacus Market | * <strong>1st October:</strong> White House Market retires | ||
23rd September: Televend is | * <strong>27th September:</strong> [[Markets: Abacus|Abacus Market]] launched | ||
9th August: NamasteLSD's | * <strong>23rd September:</strong> Televend is potentially compromised | ||
7th August: AlphaBay | * <strong>9th August:</strong> [[Defunct: NamasteLSD|NamasteLSD]]'s private shop has been seized | ||
29th July: Secmail | * <strong>7th August:</strong> [[Markets: AlphaBay (v2)|AlphaBay]] relaunched | ||
22nd June: White House and Dark0de | * <strong>29th July:</strong> Secmail goes offline permanently | ||
11th June: Slilpp | * <strong>22nd June:</strong> White House and Dark0de launch harm reduction programs — see [[Harm Reduction|Harm Reduction resources]] | ||
23rd May: Bohemia Market | * <strong>11th June:</strong> Slilpp has been seized | ||
5th May: DarkDotFail | * <strong>23rd May:</strong> [[Markets: Bohemia|Bohemia Market]] launched | ||
2nd May: Tor is | * <strong>5th May:</strong> DarkDotFail regained control of his domain — see [[News & Directories: dark.fail|dark.fail]] | ||
29th April: DarkDotFail's | * <strong>2nd May:</strong> [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor]] is killing off support for v2 onion services | ||
28th April: Aurora Market | * <strong>29th April:</strong> DarkDotFail's domain got hijacked | ||
18th April: The | * <strong>28th April:</strong> [[Markets: Aurora|Aurora Market]] exit scams | ||
9th April: Big Blue Market | * <strong>18th April:</strong> The unofficial scam market, Dread Market, is launched | ||
31st March: Incognito Market | * <strong>9th April:</strong> Big Blue Market shuts down and gives user data to law enforcement | ||
13th February: Darknet Avengers | * <strong>31st March:</strong> [[Markets: Incognito|Incognito Market]] launched | ||
3rd February: XMR.to, a | * <strong>13th February:</strong> Darknet Avengers gets seized | ||
19th January: Joker's Stash, the | * <strong>3rd February:</strong> XMR.to, a popular Monero exchange, is shutting down | ||
14th January: Yellow Brick Market is | * <strong>19th January:</strong> Joker's Stash, the largest carding shop, is shutting down | ||
13th January: DarkMarket | * <strong>14th January:</strong> [[Markets: Yellow Brick|Yellow Brick Market]] is gone | ||
12th January: Tor " | * <strong>13th January:</strong> DarkMarket has been seized | ||
9th January: Tor v3 | * <strong>12th January:</strong> [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor]] "experimental fix" might make Tor usable again | ||
* <strong>9th January:</strong> [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor]] v3 consensus attack | |||
== 2020 == | == 2020 == | ||
29th December:White House Market | * <strong>29th December:</strong> White House Market ends support for Bitcoin | ||
27th December: Neptune Market | * <strong>27th December:</strong> Neptune Market disappears | ||
11th December: Finnish | * <strong>11th December:</strong> Finnish authorities seized Sipulimarket | ||
29th November: Tor2Door Market | * <strong>29th November:</strong> [[Markets: Tor2Door|Tor2Door Market]] launched | ||
9th November: World Market | * <strong>9th November:</strong> World Market launched | ||
5th November: Someone | * <strong>5th November:</strong> Someone moved $1b in Bitcoins from the [[Markets: Silk Road (v1)|Silk Road]] | ||
2nd November: Aurora Market | * <strong>2nd November:</strong> [[Markets: Aurora|Aurora Market]] launched | ||
14th October: Cartel Market | * <strong>14th October:</strong> [[Markets: Cartel|Cartel Market]] launched | ||
9th September: The | * <strong>9th September:</strong> The creator of Imperiya launched Invictus Market | ||
1st September: CipherTrace | * <strong>1st September:</strong> CipherTrace provided feds with "Monero tracing" tools | ||
25th August: Empire Market | * <strong>25th August:</strong> [[Markets: Empire|Empire Market]] exit scams | ||
7th August: Torum | * <strong>7th August:</strong> Torum shuts down | ||
7th August: Feds | * <strong>7th August:</strong> Feds did not accuse [[News & Directories: dark.fail|dark.fail]] of a crime | ||
14th July: Neptune Market | * <strong>14th July:</strong> Neptune Market launched | ||
10th July: Versus Market | * <strong>10th July:</strong> [[Markets: Versus|Versus Market]] gets hacked | ||
9th July: Czech | * <strong>9th July:</strong> Czech police seize Atlayo | ||
20th June: DarkMarket | * <strong>20th June:</strong> DarkMarket launched | ||
14th June: BitBazaar | * <strong>14th June:</strong> BitBazaar exit scams | ||
4th June: Icarus Market | * <strong>4th June:</strong> Icarus Market launched | ||
4th June: Envoy is | * <strong>4th June:</strong> Envoy is back online with design overhaul | ||
26th May: End Game's | * <strong>26th May:</strong> End Game's source code is released | ||
25th May: Vice City Market | * <strong>25th May:</strong> Vice City Market launched | ||
20th May: Europa Market | * <strong>20th May:</strong> Europa Market exit scams with fake seizure banner | ||
17th May: Archetyp Market | * <strong>17th May:</strong> [[Markets: Archetyp|Archetyp Market]] launched | ||
16th May: DeepSea Market | * <strong>16th May:</strong> DeepSea Market launched | ||
15th May: Dark0de Market | * <strong>15th May:</strong> Dark0de Market launched | ||
14th May: Europol | * <strong>14th May:</strong> Europol dismantles InfinityBlack hacking group | ||
7th May: Avior Market | * <strong>7th May:</strong> Avior Market exit scams | ||
28th April: Pax Romana | * <strong>28th April:</strong> Pax Romana exit scams | ||
19th April: Tor Project | * <strong>19th April:</strong> [[Anon Networks: Tor Project|Tor Project]] cuts a third of its staff | ||
13th April: Empire Market | * <strong>13th April:</strong> [[Markets: Empire|Empire Market]] becomes the first market to use End Game | ||
25th March: ASAP Market | * <strong>25th March:</strong> ASAP Market launched | ||
21st March: Versus | * <strong>21st March:</strong> [[Markets: Versus|Versus]] pauses operations to audit security | ||
14th March: Pax Romana | * <strong>14th March:</strong> Pax Romana launched | ||
13th March: Child | * <strong>13th March:</strong> Child abuse site "DarkScandals" seized by Europol | ||
10th March: Daniel's Hosting is | * <strong>10th March:</strong> Daniel's Hosting is shutting down | ||
2nd March: Recon | * <strong>2nd March:</strong> Recon launched | ||
28th February: ToRReZ Market | * <strong>28th February:</strong> ToRReZ Market launched | ||
26th February: Reddit | * <strong>26th February:</strong> Reddit bans /r/DrugStashes | ||
25th February: Europa Market | * <strong>25th February:</strong> Europa Market launched | ||
21st February: DNStats.net | * <strong>21st February:</strong> DNStats.net starts serving phishing links | ||
20th February: BitBazaar | * <strong>20th February:</strong> BitBazaar launched | ||
19th February: Apollon Market | * <strong>19th February:</strong> [[Markets: Apollon|Apollon Market]] started exit scamming | ||
18th February: PrivCoin | * <strong>18th February:</strong> PrivCoin shuts down, blames "new and extensive regulations" | ||
16th February: Dread's 2 | * <strong>16th February:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]]'s 2 year anniversary | ||
12th February: Grams | * <strong>12th February:</strong> Grams admin indicted for money laundering | ||
4th February: Darkweb | * <strong>4th February:</strong> Darkweb vendors are blackmailing customers | ||
4th February: Kilos | * <strong>4th February:</strong> [[Services: Kilos|Kilos]] launches a Bitcoin mixer | ||
21st January: | * <strong>21st January:</strong> [[News & Directories: dark.fail|dark.fail]] releases tool for checking signed messages | ||
10th January: Dread is | * <strong>10th January:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] is migrating to a new host | ||
== 2019 == | == 2019 == | ||
31st December: Grey Market | * <strong>31st December:</strong> Grey Market exit scams | ||
12th December: Versus Market | * <strong>12th December:</strong> [[Markets: Versus|Versus Market]] launched | ||
11th December: Envoy | * <strong>11th December:</strong> Envoy admin launches Imperiya, a market for vendor shops | ||
10th December: China's | * <strong>10th December:</strong> China's biggest darkweb market, DeepMix, shuts down | ||
5th December: The DNSTARS | * <strong>5th December:</strong> The DNSTARS harm reduction forum is shutting down | ||
19th November: Monero | * <strong>19th November:</strong> Monero project served infected binaries for 35 minutes | ||
17th November: Dread to | * <strong>17th November:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] to return with fixes and some data loss | ||
15th November: Kilos | * <strong>15th November:</strong> [[Services: Kilos|Kilos]] launched | ||
14th November: Cryptonia Market is | * <strong>14th November:</strong> Cryptonia Market is shutting down | ||
14th November: The | * <strong>14th November:</strong> The admin of SamSara Market is gone | ||
10th November: The Darknet Collective is | * <strong>10th November:</strong> The Darknet Collective is formed, markets join forces to prevent scams | ||
7th November: Italian | * <strong>7th November:</strong> Italian authorities seized [[Markets: Berlusconi|Berlusconi Market]] | ||
39th October: Dark.Fail | * <strong>39th October:</strong> [[News & Directories: dark.fail|Dark.Fail]] introduces new guidelines for market admins | ||
21st October: Grey Market | * <strong>21st October:</strong> Grey Market launched | ||
19th October: Fake Tor Browser | * <strong>19th October:</strong> Fake Tor Browser steals Bitcoin from Russian darkweb users | ||
17th October: Avaris Market | * <strong>17th October:</strong> Avaris Market launched | ||
12th October: Avior Market | * <strong>12th October:</strong> Avior Market launched | ||
4th October: Berlusconi's | * <strong>4th October:</strong> [[Markets: Berlusconi|Berlusconi]]'s market admins have disappeared | ||
2nd October: Tochka Market | * <strong>2nd October:</strong> [[Markets: Tochka|Tochka Market]] exit scams | ||
27th September: HugBunter's | * <strong>27th September:</strong> [[Defunct: HugBunter|HugBunter]]'s deadman has been switched | ||
15th September: CannaHome Market | * <strong>15th September:</strong> [[Markets: CannaHome|CannaHome Market]] launched | ||
6th September: Belarusian | * <strong>6th September:</strong> Belarusian authorities seized XakFor hacking forum | ||
3rd September: DarkBay | * <strong>3rd September:</strong> DarkBay launched | ||
25th August: Big Blue Market | * <strong>25th August:</strong> Big Blue Market launched | ||
22nd August: White House Market | * <strong>22nd August:</strong> White House Market launched | ||
20th August: DEA | * <strong>20th August:</strong> DEA awards 130K contract to Chainalysis to track cryptocurrency | ||
19th August: Admin of Deutschland im Deep Web | * <strong>19th August:</strong> Admin of Deutschland im Deep Web sentenced to six years in prison | ||
24th July: Nightmare Market | * <strong>24th July:</strong> Nightmare Market exit scams | ||
13th July: Monopoly Market | * <strong>13th July:</strong> [[Seized:Monopoly|Monopoly Market]] launched | ||
4th July: SamSara Market | * <strong>4th July:</strong> SamSara Market launched | ||
19th June: Libertas Market | * <strong>19th June:</strong> Libertas Market shuts down due to 'lack of use' on [[Anon Networks: I2P Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer network|I2P]] | ||
13th June: Authorities | * <strong>13th June:</strong> Authorities arrest three suspected admins of France's biggest darkweb market | ||
9th June: U.S. | * <strong>9th June:</strong> U.S. police launch their own Tor site for darkweb vendor busts | ||
3rd June: LocalBitcoins | * <strong>3rd June:</strong> LocalBitcoins disables cash for Bitcoin transactions | ||
3rd June: Yellow Brick Market | * <strong>3rd June:</strong> [[Markets: Yellow Brick|Yellow Brick Market]] has returned | ||
28th May: Bitcoin Blender | * <strong>28th May:</strong> Bitcoin Blender announces shutdown | ||
25th May: Raddle, | * <strong>25th May:</strong> [[Forums:Raddle|Raddle]], like Reddit, killed the darknetmarkets subforum | ||
23rd May: Libertas Market is | * <strong>23rd May:</strong> Libertas Market is available via [[Anon Networks: I2P Censorship-resistant peer-to-peer network|I2P]] | ||
23rd May: Dutch | * <strong>23rd May:</strong> Dutch police seize Bitcoin tumbler "Bestmixer.io" | ||
14th May: CGMC | * <strong>14th May:</strong> CGMC silently shut down — see [[Markets: CGMC|CGMC]] | ||
10th May: Reddit is | * <strong>10th May:</strong> Reddit is blocking 15% of Tor exit relays | ||
9th May: Darkwebnews.com | * <strong>9th May:</strong> Darkwebnews.com shuts down | ||
7th May: International | * <strong>7th May:</strong> International law enforcement seizes [[News & Directories: DarkDotWeb|DeepDotWeb]] and arrests admin | ||
3rd May: Europol | * <strong>3rd May:</strong> Europol announces the takedown of Valhalla Market | ||
2nd May: German | * <strong>2nd May:</strong> German law enforcement seize [[Markets: Wall Street|Wallstreet Market]] | ||
30th April: Dream Market is | * <strong>30th April:</strong> [[Markets: Dream|Dream Market]] is shutting down | ||
21st April: Wallstreet Market | * <strong>21st April:</strong> [[Markets: Wall Street|Wallstreet Market]] exit scams | ||
6th April: Gangsta's Paradise | * <strong>6th April:</strong> Gangsta's Paradise forum shut down by [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] | ||
April: Yellow Brick Market | * <strong>April:</strong> [[Markets: Yellow Brick|Yellow Brick Market]] launched | ||
April: Cryptonia Market | * <strong>April:</strong> Cryptonia Market launched | ||
== 2018 == | == 2018 == | ||
2nd December: Phishkingz, | * <strong>2nd December:</strong> Phishkingz, darknet market phisher, announces retirement | ||
7th November: Law | * <strong>7th November:</strong> Law enforcement decrypt IronChat | ||
28th October: The Grams | * <strong>28th October:</strong> The Grams replacement, Masterlist, launched | ||
23rd October: Nightmare Market | * <strong>23rd October:</strong> Nightmare Market launched | ||
4th September: Olympus Market | * <strong>4th September:</strong> Olympus Market exit scams | ||
17th June: Black Hand | * <strong>17th June:</strong> Black Hand forum seized by police | ||
29th May: Dread | * <strong>29th May:</strong> [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] relaunched | ||
15th April: German | * <strong>15th April:</strong> German police bust child abuse site, Elysium | ||
5th April: Elude | * <strong>5th April:</strong> Elude launches its Monero exchange | ||
30th March: Apollon Market | * <strong>30th March:</strong> [[Markets: Apollon|Apollon Market]] launched | ||
27th March: Reddit | * <strong>27th March:</strong> Reddit bans darknetmarkets subreddit — leading to the rise of [[Forums:Dread|Dread]] | ||
24th March: Cannazon Market | * <strong>24th March:</strong> [[Markets: CannaZon|Cannazon Market]] launched | ||
January: Empire Market | * <strong>January:</strong> [[Markets: Empire|Empire Market]] launched | ||
== 2017 == | == 2017 == | ||
5th July: AlphaBay | * <strong>December:</strong> Grams search engine shuts down | ||
16th May: Outlaw Market | * <strong>20th October:</strong> TradeRoute exit scams following a hack and extortion | ||
May: Elude.in | * <strong>20th July:</strong> [[Markets: Hansa|Hansa Market]] seized — Dutch police reveal they had operated it for a month in Operation Bayonet | ||
* <strong>5th July:</strong> [[Markets: AlphaBay (v1)|AlphaBay]] has been seized | |||
* <strong>16th May:</strong> [[Markets: Outlaw|Outlaw Market]] gets hacked and shuts down | |||
* <strong>May:</strong> Elude.in launched | |||
== 2016 == | == 2016 == | ||
22nd October: TheRealDeal Market | * <strong>22nd October:</strong> [[Markets: TheRealDeal|TheRealDeal Market]] shuts down | ||
19th October: Wallstreet Market | * <strong>19th October:</strong> [[Markets: Wall Street|Wallstreet Market]] launched | ||
* <strong>28th April:</strong> [[Markets: IDC|Italian Darknet Community (IDC)]] marketplace admins arrested | |||
* <strong>April:</strong> [[Markets: Nucleus|Nucleus Market]] collapses, escrowed coins vanish | |||
== 2015 == | == 2015 == | ||
6th September: Agora Market | * <strong>6th September:</strong> [[Markets: Agora|Agora Market]] shuts down | ||
July: Dark0de | * <strong>31st July:</strong> Babylon Market seized by Italian police with Europol | ||
28th April: East India Company | * <strong>July:</strong> Dark0de forum has been seized | ||
9th April: TheRealDeal Market | * <strong>18th May:</strong> Black Bank disappears in an exit scam | ||
18th March: Evolution Market | * <strong>28th April:</strong> East India Company launched | ||
15th January: Hydra Market | * <strong>9th April:</strong> [[Markets: TheRealDeal|TheRealDeal Market]] launched | ||
* <strong>18th March:</strong> [[Markets: Evolution|Evolution Market]] exit scams | |||
* <strong>15th January:</strong> [[Markets: Hydra|Hydra Market]] launched | |||
== 2014 == | == 2014 == | ||
22nd December: AlphaBay v1 | * <strong>22nd December:</strong> [[Markets: AlphaBay (v1)|AlphaBay v1]] launched | ||
19th April: Tochka Market | * <strong>7th November:</strong> Operation Onymous — [[Markets: Silk Road (v2)|Silk Road 2.0]] and 26 other darknet sites seized | ||
9th March: Hansa Market | * <strong>19th April:</strong> [[Markets: Tochka|Tochka Market]] launched | ||
* <strong>9th March:</strong> [[Markets: Hansa|Hansa Market]] launched | |||
* <strong>10th February:</strong> Utopia Market shut down by Dutch police 8 days after launch | |||
* <strong>February:</strong> Black Goblin Market and CannabisRoad closed after deanonymization | |||
== 2013 == | == 2013 == | ||
29th December: Outlaw Market | * <strong>29th December:</strong> [[Markets: Outlaw|Outlaw Market]] launched | ||
3rd December: Agora Market | * <strong>3rd December:</strong> [[Markets: Agora|Agora Market]] launched | ||
29th November: A | * <strong>29th November:</strong> A vendor steals $6 million from [[Markets: Sheep|Sheep Marketplace]] | ||
15th November: Dream Market | * <strong>15th November:</strong> [[Markets: Dream|Dream Market]] launched | ||
1st October: Silk Road has | * <strong>Late November:</strong> [[Markets: Black Market Reloaded|Black Market Reloaded]] announces closure after a source code leak | ||
* <strong>6th November:</strong> [[Markets: Silk Road (v2)|Silk Road 2.0]] launched | |||
* <strong>October:</strong> Project Black Flag vanishes, stealing users' bitcoins | |||
* <strong>1st October:</strong> [[Markets: Silk Road (v1)|Silk Road]] has been seized — see [[Defunct: Ross Ulbricht|Ross Ulbricht]] and [[Defunct: Silk Road|Silk Road (defunct)]] | |||
* <strong>3rd August:</strong> Freedom Hosting seized by the FBI | |||
* <strong>June:</strong> Silk Road CAPTCHA bug leaks server address | |||
== 2012 == | == 2012 == | ||
April: The Farmer's Market has | * <strong>May:</strong> [[Markets: Atlantis|Atlantis Market]] launched, the first to accept Litecoin | ||
* <strong>April:</strong> The Farmer's Market has been seized | |||
== 2011 == | == 2011 == | ||
31st Janurary: Silk Road | * <strong>1st June:</strong> Gawker publishes "The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable" — traffic to [[Markets: Silk Road (v1)|Silk Road]] explodes | ||
* <strong>31st Janurary:</strong> [[Markets: Silk Road (v1)|Silk Road]] launched | |||
== 2010 == | == 2010 == | ||
The Farmer's Market | The Farmer's Market moved to Tor. | ||
Latest revision as of 20:49, 2 September 2026
The Darknet Timeline
Every major event in darknet history — launches, law enforcement seizures, exit scams, arrests and infrastructure takedowns — from the launch of Silk Road in 2011 up to today. Entries marked with a page link take you to our full write-up on that market, forum, service or person, where you'll find onion addresses, PGP keys and the complete story.
Quick facts: The timeline covers 15 years of darknet history. The bloodiest single day was 5 April 2022, when Hydra Market was seized. The longest-running market was Archetyp (2020-2025). The most profitable exit scam remains Empire Market (August 2020).
Jump to a year: 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010
This timeline was researched and documented by the Darknet community itself — thank you to every community member who reported, verified and shared these events as they happened. If you spot something missing or incorrect, get in touch and help us keep the record straight.
2025
- 20th November: Reddit bans and erases Dread administrator HugBunter's account — see HugBunter
- 14th July: Abacus Market vanishes in a suspected exit scam
- 6th July: Dread suffers an extended outage amid DDoS attacks; HugBunter publishes PGP-signed status updates
- 16th June: Archetyp Market seized in Operation Deep Sentinel — administrator arrested in Barcelona, €7.8M in assets seized. Full story: Timeline: Archetyp
- 5th June: BidenCash carding market seized, approximately 145 domains taken down
- 22nd May: Operation RapTor announced — 270 arrests and €184M+ in cash and cryptocurrency seized
- 7th March: Garantex crypto exchange seized, Tether freezes $28M in USDT
2024
- 16th December: Incognito Market owner pleads guilty — full story: Timeline: Incognito
- 10th October: Dutch police announce the dismantling of Bohemia/Cannabia — €8M in crypto seized, two administrators arrested. Full story: Timeline: Bohemia
- 6th May: Incognito Market owner "Pharaoh" (Rui-Siang Lin) arrested at JFK Airport
- 21st March: Nemesis Market seized by German BKA/Frankfurt ZIT with US and Lithuanian partners
- March: Incognito Market shuts down amid a law enforcement seizure
2023
- 20th December: Kingdom Market has been seized
- 18th December: Speculation in regards to Kingdom market being likely seized
- 24th November: Monumental update to Tor Browser in regards to PoW access — see PoW defense for Onion Services
- 22nd November: Hugbunter sets out warning in regards to the wallet withdrawal issue
- 22nd November: Bohemia Market reopens - supposedly
- 4th November: m00nkey is experiencing uncertainty due to disappearance
- 29th October: Bohemia white-screen, said to be due to overwhelming DDOS
- 13th October: DNMX was raided
- 13th October: Bohemia releases emergency link
- 12th October: Test4Pay proposition & removal of Steveirwin from /d/Test4Pay moderation due to arrest
- 12th October: Cypher Market goes on maintenance
- 2nd October: Bohemia receives a mega-thread, withdrawal problems remain questionable
- 2nd October: Bohemia experiences wallet withdrawal bug
- 1st October: Raspberry Pi 5 is going to be released
- 24th September: Dark Matter moves from probationary list to the superlist
- 19th September: Tor2Door sub-dread has been locked out until further notice
- 15th September: Tor2Door experiences unusual downtime
- 14th September: Tor2Door goes down and is confirmed as an exit scam
- 7th September: Searching on Dread now works
- 1st September: BigBossChefOfArchetyp publishes an open letter to governments and law enforcement
- 28th August: Dark Matter Market releases private shops
- 25th August: A bug on dnm.watch (Tor2Door rotatory mirror) said "Warning!!! You are in a phishing website." for a link
- 22nd August: Searching on Dread has been going under work
- 21st June: BreachForums clearnet domain seized by the FBI
- 2nd May: Operation SpecTor announced — 288 arrests, the largest JCODE operation at the time, completing the Monopoly Market takedown
- 5th April: Genesis Market seized in Operation Cookie Monster — 17 countries, 119 arrests
- 15th March: BreachForums founder "pompompurin" (Conor Brian FitzPatrick) arrested
- 5th March: Dread Relaunches
- 14th February: AlphaBay (v2) exit scams
- 20th January: Kilos Exchange exit scams
- 3rd January: Deutschland.im Deep Web seized
2022
- 23rd June: Monopoly Market was seized — full story: Timeline: Monopoly
- 9th June: Tor Network experiences a network-wide DDoS
- June: SSNDOB was seized — full story: Timeline: SSNDOB
- 26th May: VenTor launched
- 22nd May: Versus Market retires
- 12th April: Dread launches I2P mirror
- 6th April: xChange.me shuts down
- 5th April: Hydra Market gets seized — the largest darknet market seizure in history
- 25th March: World Market exit scams
- 8th March: Archetyp leaves Dread
- 7th March: Dread v3 released
- 25th February: Dark0de Reborn exit scams
- 16th February: Dread's 4 year anniversary
- 28th January: DeepDotWeb admin sentenced to 97 months in prison
2021
- 30th December: Monopoly Market disappears
- 23rd December: Cartel Market disappears
- 16th December: ToRReZ Market retires
- 8th December: Someone is running hundreds of malicious Tor relays
- 27th November: Shredd launched
- 23rd November: Cannazon Market retires
- 26th October: Operation Dark HunTOR announced — 150 arrests across 8 countries
- 19th October: Dread's search goes offline
- 16th October: Envoy relaunched
- 6th October: PGP.fail launched
- 1st October: White House Market retires
- 27th September: Abacus Market launched
- 23rd September: Televend is potentially compromised
- 9th August: NamasteLSD's private shop has been seized
- 7th August: AlphaBay relaunched
- 29th July: Secmail goes offline permanently
- 22nd June: White House and Dark0de launch harm reduction programs — see Harm Reduction resources
- 11th June: Slilpp has been seized
- 23rd May: Bohemia Market launched
- 5th May: DarkDotFail regained control of his domain — see dark.fail
- 2nd May: Tor is killing off support for v2 onion services
- 29th April: DarkDotFail's domain got hijacked
- 28th April: Aurora Market exit scams
- 18th April: The unofficial scam market, Dread Market, is launched
- 9th April: Big Blue Market shuts down and gives user data to law enforcement
- 31st March: Incognito Market launched
- 13th February: Darknet Avengers gets seized
- 3rd February: XMR.to, a popular Monero exchange, is shutting down
- 19th January: Joker's Stash, the largest carding shop, is shutting down
- 14th January: Yellow Brick Market is gone
- 13th January: DarkMarket has been seized
- 12th January: Tor "experimental fix" might make Tor usable again
- 9th January: Tor v3 consensus attack
2020
- 29th December: White House Market ends support for Bitcoin
- 27th December: Neptune Market disappears
- 11th December: Finnish authorities seized Sipulimarket
- 29th November: Tor2Door Market launched
- 9th November: World Market launched
- 5th November: Someone moved $1b in Bitcoins from the Silk Road
- 2nd November: Aurora Market launched
- 14th October: Cartel Market launched
- 9th September: The creator of Imperiya launched Invictus Market
- 1st September: CipherTrace provided feds with "Monero tracing" tools
- 25th August: Empire Market exit scams
- 7th August: Torum shuts down
- 7th August: Feds did not accuse dark.fail of a crime
- 14th July: Neptune Market launched
- 10th July: Versus Market gets hacked
- 9th July: Czech police seize Atlayo
- 20th June: DarkMarket launched
- 14th June: BitBazaar exit scams
- 4th June: Icarus Market launched
- 4th June: Envoy is back online with design overhaul
- 26th May: End Game's source code is released
- 25th May: Vice City Market launched
- 20th May: Europa Market exit scams with fake seizure banner
- 17th May: Archetyp Market launched
- 16th May: DeepSea Market launched
- 15th May: Dark0de Market launched
- 14th May: Europol dismantles InfinityBlack hacking group
- 7th May: Avior Market exit scams
- 28th April: Pax Romana exit scams
- 19th April: Tor Project cuts a third of its staff
- 13th April: Empire Market becomes the first market to use End Game
- 25th March: ASAP Market launched
- 21st March: Versus pauses operations to audit security
- 14th March: Pax Romana launched
- 13th March: Child abuse site "DarkScandals" seized by Europol
- 10th March: Daniel's Hosting is shutting down
- 2nd March: Recon launched
- 28th February: ToRReZ Market launched
- 26th February: Reddit bans /r/DrugStashes
- 25th February: Europa Market launched
- 21st February: DNStats.net starts serving phishing links
- 20th February: BitBazaar launched
- 19th February: Apollon Market started exit scamming
- 18th February: PrivCoin shuts down, blames "new and extensive regulations"
- 16th February: Dread's 2 year anniversary
- 12th February: Grams admin indicted for money laundering
- 4th February: Darkweb vendors are blackmailing customers
- 4th February: Kilos launches a Bitcoin mixer
- 21st January: dark.fail releases tool for checking signed messages
- 10th January: Dread is migrating to a new host
2019
- 31st December: Grey Market exit scams
- 12th December: Versus Market launched
- 11th December: Envoy admin launches Imperiya, a market for vendor shops
- 10th December: China's biggest darkweb market, DeepMix, shuts down
- 5th December: The DNSTARS harm reduction forum is shutting down
- 19th November: Monero project served infected binaries for 35 minutes
- 17th November: Dread to return with fixes and some data loss
- 15th November: Kilos launched
- 14th November: Cryptonia Market is shutting down
- 14th November: The admin of SamSara Market is gone
- 10th November: The Darknet Collective is formed, markets join forces to prevent scams
- 7th November: Italian authorities seized Berlusconi Market
- 39th October: Dark.Fail introduces new guidelines for market admins
- 21st October: Grey Market launched
- 19th October: Fake Tor Browser steals Bitcoin from Russian darkweb users
- 17th October: Avaris Market launched
- 12th October: Avior Market launched
- 4th October: Berlusconi's market admins have disappeared
- 2nd October: Tochka Market exit scams
- 27th September: HugBunter's deadman has been switched
- 15th September: CannaHome Market launched
- 6th September: Belarusian authorities seized XakFor hacking forum
- 3rd September: DarkBay launched
- 25th August: Big Blue Market launched
- 22nd August: White House Market launched
- 20th August: DEA awards 130K contract to Chainalysis to track cryptocurrency
- 19th August: Admin of Deutschland im Deep Web sentenced to six years in prison
- 24th July: Nightmare Market exit scams
- 13th July: Monopoly Market launched
- 4th July: SamSara Market launched
- 19th June: Libertas Market shuts down due to 'lack of use' on I2P
- 13th June: Authorities arrest three suspected admins of France's biggest darkweb market
- 9th June: U.S. police launch their own Tor site for darkweb vendor busts
- 3rd June: LocalBitcoins disables cash for Bitcoin transactions
- 3rd June: Yellow Brick Market has returned
- 28th May: Bitcoin Blender announces shutdown
- 25th May: Raddle, like Reddit, killed the darknetmarkets subforum
- 23rd May: Libertas Market is available via I2P
- 23rd May: Dutch police seize Bitcoin tumbler "Bestmixer.io"
- 14th May: CGMC silently shut down — see CGMC
- 10th May: Reddit is blocking 15% of Tor exit relays
- 9th May: Darkwebnews.com shuts down
- 7th May: International law enforcement seizes DeepDotWeb and arrests admin
- 3rd May: Europol announces the takedown of Valhalla Market
- 2nd May: German law enforcement seize Wallstreet Market
- 30th April: Dream Market is shutting down
- 21st April: Wallstreet Market exit scams
- 6th April: Gangsta's Paradise forum shut down by Dread
- April: Yellow Brick Market launched
- April: Cryptonia Market launched
2018
- 2nd December: Phishkingz, darknet market phisher, announces retirement
- 7th November: Law enforcement decrypt IronChat
- 28th October: The Grams replacement, Masterlist, launched
- 23rd October: Nightmare Market launched
- 4th September: Olympus Market exit scams
- 17th June: Black Hand forum seized by police
- 29th May: Dread relaunched
- 15th April: German police bust child abuse site, Elysium
- 5th April: Elude launches its Monero exchange
- 30th March: Apollon Market launched
- 27th March: Reddit bans darknetmarkets subreddit — leading to the rise of Dread
- 24th March: Cannazon Market launched
- January: Empire Market launched
2017
- December: Grams search engine shuts down
- 20th October: TradeRoute exit scams following a hack and extortion
- 20th July: Hansa Market seized — Dutch police reveal they had operated it for a month in Operation Bayonet
- 5th July: AlphaBay has been seized
- 16th May: Outlaw Market gets hacked and shuts down
- May: Elude.in launched
2016
- 22nd October: TheRealDeal Market shuts down
- 19th October: Wallstreet Market launched
- 28th April: Italian Darknet Community (IDC) marketplace admins arrested
- April: Nucleus Market collapses, escrowed coins vanish
2015
- 6th September: Agora Market shuts down
- 31st July: Babylon Market seized by Italian police with Europol
- July: Dark0de forum has been seized
- 18th May: Black Bank disappears in an exit scam
- 28th April: East India Company launched
- 9th April: TheRealDeal Market launched
- 18th March: Evolution Market exit scams
- 15th January: Hydra Market launched
2014
- 22nd December: AlphaBay v1 launched
- 7th November: Operation Onymous — Silk Road 2.0 and 26 other darknet sites seized
- 19th April: Tochka Market launched
- 9th March: Hansa Market launched
- 10th February: Utopia Market shut down by Dutch police 8 days after launch
- February: Black Goblin Market and CannabisRoad closed after deanonymization
2013
- 29th December: Outlaw Market launched
- 3rd December: Agora Market launched
- 29th November: A vendor steals $6 million from Sheep Marketplace
- 15th November: Dream Market launched
- Late November: Black Market Reloaded announces closure after a source code leak
- 6th November: Silk Road 2.0 launched
- October: Project Black Flag vanishes, stealing users' bitcoins
- 1st October: Silk Road has been seized — see Ross Ulbricht and Silk Road (defunct)
- 3rd August: Freedom Hosting seized by the FBI
- June: Silk Road CAPTCHA bug leaks server address
2012
- May: Atlantis Market launched, the first to accept Litecoin
- April: The Farmer's Market has been seized
2011
- 1st June: Gawker publishes "The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable" — traffic to Silk Road explodes
- 31st Janurary: Silk Road launched
2010
The Farmer's Market moved to Tor.
