Harmon was charged in 2020 with conspiracy to commit money laundering for helping criminals hide their funds through his laundering service. He received a lighter sentence from the judge for assisting the U.S. in prosecuting other cryptocurrency cases. The judge praised Harmon for his cooperation and support in other cryptocurrency cases.

Federal prosecutors allege that Pilipis, who ran the unlicensed exchange, AurumXchange, from 2009 to 2013, handled funds allegedly related to Silk Road sales but was not licensed to handle payments, and he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Elude.in, once considered one of the most reliable anonymous encryption exchange services on the dark web, has been in operation for over five years. In addition to serving as a cryptocurrency exchange and mixer, they also provide a free anonymous email service, which is also popular among dark web users. It is confusing that currently, Elude.in's dark and clear web sites, along with all of its services, remain online, seeming to carry out the exit scam to the end.

In cooperation with U.S. authorities, the German Federal Criminal Police Office has shut down what was allegedly the largest money laundering service on the Dark Web. Investigators seized about 44 million euros from the cryptocurrency mixer. Stolen funds from FTX are also said to have been laundered here.

According to a report by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, dogecoin are gaining influence on the dark web and are increasingly associated with a number of illegal activities such as terrorist financing, Ponzi schemes and child sex abuse.

The lawmakers argued that these illegal marketplaces on the dark web are hubs and havens for some of society's most dangerous criminals, and that as these criminals become more technologically advanced, there is a need to ensure that law enforcement efforts have more tools to combat them.

Cryptocurrency is anonymous, but it also means that anyone can track you through your wallet address. The bad guys know this and are looking for more sophisticated ways to cover their tracks. This explains their preference for dark web markets.

Chainalysis reports that about 3.7% of cryptocurrency whales are criminals and most of their income appears to come from the dark web, as they have about $25 billion in total assets. However, as law enforcement becomes more efficient, legal cryptocurrency adoption remains ahead of illegal use.

In its announcement, Tor officials thanked the cryptocurrency community for its strong support and said that through donations, Tor has made great strides to successfully deal with the Russian blockade and is also playing an important role in improving cryptocurrency privacy.

Blockchain analytics provider Elliptic revealed that the four Russian sites earned a total of about $263 million in digital assets through illegal transactions. The three most commonly used cryptocurrencies are bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and litecoin (LTC).