Cryptocurrency, dark web marketplaces interlinked with illicit drug trade: SFU study

Online cryptomarkets are proving to be a popular place for the exchange of currency for illicit drugs, according to a new study conducted by Simon Fraser University researchers.

According to the study, a “cryptomarket” is an online marketplace in dark web spheres that can facilitate the sale of illicit goods between vendors and buyers —much like how Facebook Marketplace operates.

Read more: 3 Vancouver Island men charged in dark web cryptocurrency drug trafficking ring SFU criminology professor Richard Frank, also the director of the International CyberCrime Research Centre, said this new-age type of transaction is an attractive alternative to traditional in-person drug dealing. “Cryptomarkets, which are typically short-lived sites that appear and shut down regularly, can be used as an alternative method to access these products,” he said. “With lower prices, contactless transactions and a large variety of drug products available in varying quantities for the buyer’s perusal, it becomes an attractive alternative for the illicit trade.” To get a better understanding of the cryptomarket drug scene, researchers analyzed eight “large and notable” cryptomarkets between June 2021 and January 2022. “Researchers, who presented their findings at a recent international conference on system sciences, reported an estimated 16.8 tons of drug products trafficked for $234.7 million across the eight cryptomarkets, with the most popular drugs being stim­­ulants, cannabis, opioids and benzodiazepines,” SFU staff wrote in a press release.

Read more: Cash, gold bars and cars seized in money-laundering, drug crackdown in Surrey and White Rock They also found that larger quantities and less expensive items are more likely to be