AlphaBay

AlphaBay was a darknet marketplace that operated on the Tor network, launched in 2014 as an online venue for buying and selling illegal goods and services. It became one of the largest markets of its kind, hosting thousands of vendors and tens of thousands of listings. The site emphasized user anonymity, secure messaging, and a reputation system to facilitate trust between buyers and sellers.

Key features included a cryptocurrency-based payment system and an escrow mechanism. Transactions commonly used Bitcoin, with an escrow service that used multisignature wallets to hold funds until the buyer confirmed receipt of goods or services, helping to mitigate fraud and disputes. AlphaBay also offered vendor verification and a rating system to aid buyers in assessing reliability.

Operations and governance were conducted through anonymous administrator accounts, with access restricted to registered members. The marketplace was widely used for a range of illicit items, including illegal drugs, stolen data, counterfeit documents, and illicit services; legitimate gray-market items and information security tools also appeared in listings.

In July 2017, law enforcement agencies announced the seizure of AlphaBay as part of an international operation. The site’s alleged operator, Alexandre Cazes, a Canadian-born programmer, was arrested in Thailand and died in custody shortly after the seizure. After AlphaBay was shut down, several successor markets emerged to fill the gap in the dark web marketplace ecosystem.