Abacus Market operators disappeared with $12 million worth of clients' cryptocurrency

Date: 2025-07-16 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
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In early July, TRM Labs analysts recorded numerous complaints from Abacus Market clients about difficulties with withdrawing cryptocurrency and service interruptions. This platform occupied a leading position in the illegal trading market in North America and Western Europe, controlling about 70% of the market.

Initially, the administration assured users that the problems were related to technical failures and DDoS attacks. However, soon any responses from the operators ceased, and the site itself and its mirrors completely disappeared from the network. TRM Labs experts believe that the owners of the platform organized an exit scam in this way, having appropriated client assets worth about $12 million.

Such schemes are typical for illegal marketplaces on the darknet - administrators try to maintain the appearance of normal operation until the very end in order to quietly withdraw users' funds. According to experts, the victims are unlikely to be able to return the stolen bitcoins or other cryptocurrency, since such platforms initially operate outside the legal field.

The reason for the sudden disappearance may not only be the desire to get rich at the expense of gullible clients. TRM Labs emphasizes that Abacus Market has recently reached the pinnacle of its "career" - in terms of turnover and number of transactions, it has overtaken most competitors. This is what attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies to the platform, which could ultimately push the administrators to close the project and withdraw all assets.

A similar fate befell another major darknet market, Archetyp, which also ceased to exist after a large-scale operation by special services. Experts note that the darknet ecosystem is structured in such a way that the more successful and famous the platform becomes, the higher the risk of sudden disappearance along with other people's money.

While Abacus Market users are discussing possible options for returning funds, experts do not see any real chances for this. Practice shows that hopes for a refund through the court or law enforcement agencies in such cases are almost never realized.

The situation with Abacus Market once again highlights the vulnerability of users who trust their funds to anonymous administrators of illegal trading platforms. Experts advise taking these risks into account and not storing large sums on such resources, where any failure or disappearance of the owners can result in a complete loss of assets.
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