US and Europol Law Enforcement Shut Down Archetyp Drug Marketplace with Monero Settlements
Date: 2025-06-18 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
The largest darknet marketplace Archetyp, which accepted only Monero, was shut down in a joint operation by US and Europol law enforcement agencies. The platform existed for about five years - its activities began in 2020 and during this time it attracted more than 600,000 users from all over the world. According to investigators, the annual turnover from the sale of drugs through this resource exceeded $250 million.
The main feature of Archetyp was the use of exclusively the Monero cryptocurrency for settlements. This coin is known for its enhanced privacy features, which made it a popular choice among those who sought to hide financial transactions. The creators of the platform believed that Monero's anonymity and additional security measures would help avoid surveillance by the authorities. To protect data, methods such as mandatory use of Tor, encrypted PGP messages, escrow accounts, and two-factor authentication for interactions between participants were used.
Despite the high level of protection and well-thought-out “operational hygiene,” the security services managed to identify vulnerabilities in the platform. In mid-June of this year, the alleged administrator of Archetyp was detained in Spain. His arrest allowed law enforcement agencies to gain access to important information about the market structure, sellers and buyers, and the platform’s employees. This data covers the resource’s activity over the past five years.
The liquidation of Archetyp was another blow to darknet markets that use Monero to conduct anonymous transactions. Earlier this year, the American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the delisting of Monero for clients from the European Economic Area, which also limits the use of this coin for legal purposes in Europe.
The operation to close Archetyp demonstrates that even resources with a high level of protection can be vulnerable if law enforcement agencies from different countries coordinate their actions. The intelligence services intend to continue to actively combat illegal online trade.
