Abacus Market, the largest Western dark web marketplace using Bitcoin, which occupied up to 70% of the market share, has suddenly disappeared from the network, raising concerns about an Exit Scam after weeks of turbulence.
The digital underground world has just witnessed the collapse of a major empire. Abacus Market, the top Bitcoin dark web marketplace in the West, has unexpectedly ceased operations, leaving a power vacuum and numerous suspicions about an organized Exit Scam.
According to an analysis from the blockchain security company TRM Labs, Abacus's entire technical infrastructure, from the main website to common access versions, has been shut down. Experts note that this sudden closure bears all the typical signs of an Exit Scam, where administrators stop the platform's operations and appropriate users' deposited funds.
This incident occurred after a period of instability and conflict. From late June, Abacus users began experiencing difficulties withdrawing funds. The administrator with the alias "Vito" attempted to reassure the community, blaming technical issues arising from sudden traffic increases and DDoS attacks.
However, this is a common scenario in previous Exit Scams, quickly eroding user trust, clearly demonstrated by the daily deposit amount dropping sharply from an average of 230,000 USD to around 13,000 USD.
Paradoxically, Abacus's remarkable success might be the direct cause of its collapse. After Europol shut down its major competitor Archetyp Market in mid-June, Abacus attracted a large number of new users, pushing June revenue to a record 6.3 million USD, thereby capturing over 70% of the entire Western dark web Bitcoin ecosystem.
In 4 years of operation, Abacus processed nearly 100 million USD in transactions using Bitcoin alone, and according to TRM Labs, the actual figure could reach 300-400 million USD when including transactions through Monero.
Facing increasing pressure from authorities and the massive accumulated profits, Abacus's management might have been confronted with a difficult choice: continue operating with high arrest risks or execute an Exit Scam to preserve assets and personal freedom.
History shows that administrators of similar platforms have often successfully executed Exit Scams without prosecution. Although the possibility of a secret seizure by authorities cannot be completely ruled out, current indications primarily lean towards the Exit Scam hypothesis.
