Bitcoin is still the crypto of choice for darknet marketplaces

A survey conducted by The Block Research has found that bitcoin remains the cryptocurrency of choice for payments and withdrawals for many darknet marketplaces.

The Block's Steven Zheng found that among the 49 darknet markets surveyed, about 98% of them support bitcoin.

Monero is the second-most popular cryptocurrency — it's used by 45% of markets — with litecoin and bitcoin cash drawing support from 29% and 12% of the survey markets, respectively. The results largely mirror those gleaned during a 2019 survey, though in that case, ETH was third-most popular at the time.

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

 

A report published earlier this year by Bitfury Crystal found that darknet entities are turning to transaction mixers — which help obscure the provenance of funds — in increasing numbers

Read The Block Research's full report here