Type of site | Darknet market |
---|---|
Available in | Russian |
Revenue | $5 billion dollars (lifetime) |
URL | hydraforums.io |
Commercial | Yes |
Users | 17 million users 19,000 sellers |
Launched | 2015 |
Current status | Online since April 2022 |
Hydra is a Russian language dark web marketplace, founded in 2015, [1] that facilitated trafficking of illegal drugs, financial services including cryptocurrency tumbling for money laundering, exchange services between cryptocurrency and Russian rubles, [2] and the sale of falsified documents and hacking services. [3] On April 5, 2022, American and German federal government law enforcement agencies announced the seizure of the website's Germany-based servers and cryptocurrency assets. Before its closure, it had been the longest-running dark web marketplace. [4] [5] The United States Department of Justice has indicted one Russian man for his role in running the servers for the website. [3]
Group of admins/managers running Hydra market were not discovered or arrested. [6]
At the time of server takedown it had 17 million registered customers. [7]
The closure of Hydra started the ongoing Russian darknet market conflict over Russian darknet drug markets.
Unique among dark net marketplaces, Hydra provided various criminal financial services. [2]
Type of site | Darknet market |
---|---|
Available in | Russian |
Revenue | $5 billion dollars (lifetime) |
URL | hydraforums.io |
Commercial | Yes |
Users | 17 million users 19,000 sellers |
Launched | 2015 |
Current status | Online since April 2022 |
Hydra is a Russian language dark web marketplace, founded in 2015, [1] that facilitated trafficking of illegal drugs, financial services including cryptocurrency tumbling for money laundering, exchange services between cryptocurrency and Russian rubles, [2] and the sale of falsified documents and hacking services. [3] On April 5, 2022, American and German federal government law enforcement agencies announced the seizure of the website's Germany-based servers and cryptocurrency assets. Before its closure, it had been the longest-running dark web marketplace. [4] [5] The United States Department of Justice has indicted one Russian man for his role in running the servers for the website. [3]
Group of admins/managers running Hydra market were not discovered or arrested. [6]
At the time of server takedown it had 17 million registered customers. [7]
The closure of Hydra started the ongoing Russian darknet market conflict over Russian darknet drug markets.
Unique among dark net marketplaces, Hydra provided various criminal financial services. [2]