Elliptic said a downturn in sales volume may be the reason why the Joker’s Stash announced that it would cease its activity. That, or the founder simply made so much money that it’s no longer worth the risk.
While some of the crypto red flags are obvious, others are very broad and could well catch legitimate investors in the net—for instance, opening an account and making a lot of transactions despite being old.
The pandemic's economic destruction is so bad that even retailers of what may be the most recession-proof product there is—illegal narcotics—are feeling the pinch as coronavirus hits darknet revenues.
After a small dip in criminal activity in 2018, total dark market activity, which included mainly drug sales but also things like stolen credit cards, soared 70% in 2019 to more than $790 million, according to a report released Tuesday by cryptocurrency forensic firm Chainalysis.
