Russia's Kraken Darknet Market Saw a Big Jump in Crypto Trade Despite Global Downturn, Chainalysis Says

While global darknet crypto sales fell by double digits over the past year, Russia's darknet market Kraken still saw a big jump in crypto trade.

output: Global cryptocurrency sales on darknet markets dropped by 15% in 2024, though Russia’s darknet market scene tells a different story with one platform bucking the trend, according to new data from blockchain forensic firm Chainalysis.

In a blog post, Chainalysis revealed that while total revenue on darknet markets dropped 15% in 2024 due to years of international law enforcement efforts, crypto sales on a Russia-focused darknet market still jumped 68%. The platform, known as Kraken, has become “the leading darknet market by annual revenue” since the closure of Hydra, Russia’s largest darknet market, in April 2022.

While Mega, once the main drug supplier for vendors on other darknet sites, saw its inflows drop by over 50% year-over-year, Kraken grew nearly 68% YoY, handling $737 million on-chain in 2024, Chainalysis noted.

Despite the global downturn, Chainalysis noted that darknet markets still process hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto each year. But law enforcement crackdowns and blockchain transparency have pushed many operators to move away from Bitcoin (BTC) due to its inherent transparency.

Many operators have since “moved to accepting only Monero” (XMR), a privacy coin with features designed to boost anonymity and reduce traceability, Chainalysis noted.