Type of site | Darknet market |
---|---|
Available in | English |
URL | http://agorahoo3yigtggf.onion/[1] |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Required |
Launched | 2013 |
Current status | Online |
Agora is an online black market operated as a Tor hidden service. It launched in 2013 and in September 2014 surpassed Silk Road to become the largest Dark Net marketplace.[2]
All transactions on Agora are conducted with bitcoin.[3]
Agora was unaffected by Operation Onymous, the November 2014 seizure of several major online dark markets (most notably the Silk Road) by law enforcement.[4]
Since the Evolution Marketplace disappeared along with all its users funds,[5] worth an estimated 40,000 Bitcoins (worth approximately 12 million USD at the time), Agora has been by far the largest illicit market on the darknet.
In December 2014, 'The Darknet: From Memes to Onionland' Carmen Weisskopf and Domagoj Smoljo explored Darknet culture in an exhibition. This featured the 'Random Darknet Shopper' which spent $100 BTC per week from Agora.[6] Their aim was to explore the ethical and philosophical implications of these markets, which, despite high-profile internationally co-ordinated raids persist and flourish.[7]
References
- ^ "Agora Marketplace URL". DeepDotWeb. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
- ^ Andy Greenberg. "Drug Market ‘Agora’ Replaces the Silk Road as King of the Dark Net". Wired, 2 September 2014.
- ^ Zenon Evans. "Agora Is the Web's Top Black Marketplace". Reason, 2 September 2014.
- ^ Andy Greenberg. "Not Just Silk Road 2: Feds Seize Two Other Drug Markets and Counting". Wired, 6 November 2014.
- ^ "Evolution Marketplace and Official Forum Go Dark in Apparent Exit Scam". Darknet Markets. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
- ^ Pangburn, DJ (13 January 2015). "The Best Things a Random Bot Bought on the Dark Net". Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Power, Mike (5 December 2014). "What happens when a software bot goes on a darknet shopping spree?". Retrieved 26 May 2015.