Dream Market: History and Unresolved 2019 Closure
Dream outlasted Silk Road and AlphaBay, then went dark in 2019. Public accounts treat the ending as unresolved: seizure rumors, an exit, or both.
Tor and darknet research 2026
Tor history and darknet takedowns
Case studies and timelines for the Tor network and darknet markets — Silk Road, AlphaBay, Hydra, Dream, Empire — written from public records and agency statements. The current name list stays under Markets. We do not republish dead-shop onions. Concepts: Learn.
Case studies and timelines
Empire Market: Rise After Dream and 2020 Exit
Empire absorbed English-language traffic after Dream closed, then vanished in 2020. Public estimates put user losses around $30 million.
White House Market: Voluntary Closure, 2017–2021
White House Market pushed Monero and PGP, then closed itself in 2021 and pointed users at withdrawals instead of vanishing with escrow.
AlphaBay and Hansa: Operation Bayonet, 2017
How the largest darknet market of its era fell in July 2017 — and why users who fled to Hansa landed on a server the Dutch police were already running.
Archetyp and Abacus 2025: A Seizure and a Silence
Archetyp was seized in June 2025; Abacus disappeared weeks later in a suspected exit scam. Compare the evidence, agencies, and market aftermath.
Darknet Forums: Dread, OnionForum, and Suprbay
How Dread replaced r/darknetmarkets in 2018, how OnionForum and Suprbay differ, and why researchers verify forum claims before citing them.
Hydra Market: History and 2022 Seizure
Hydra Market operated from 2015 until German police seized its servers and 543 bitcoins in April 2022. Its scale reshaped the Russian-language darknet.
History of Tor: Onion Routing, Tor Project, Bridges
History of the Tor network: NRL onion routing, the 2002 release, Tor Project founding, onion services v3, and pluggable transports.
Darknet Market Takedowns Timeline 2013–2025
Darknet market takedowns 2013–2025: Silk Road to Archetyp — dates, agencies, jurisdictions, ending types, and primary sources. Not a history of Tor itself.
Silk Road 2013: How Tor Was Perceived
Silk Road 2013: FBI seizure, public perception of Tor, and why one marketplace does not define the overlay network or its relays.