The Russian-based dark web Hydra marketplace has been shut down by German law enforcement, seizing over $25 million worth of Bitcoin from its operators. Three German authorities have worked together to conduct the operation, including Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office, and Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.
In a joint statement, the German authorities shared that they successfully took Hydra’s server infrastructure down, an underground marketplace with sales of at least $1.34 billion for 2020.
The statement also explained that since August last year, together with US authorities, there had been an ongoing investigation against the Hydra marketplace based on suspicions of a criminal trading platform operating online that grants unauthorised sale of illegal goods, such as narcotics and money laundering.
Hydra marketplace is an illegal trading platform from the dark web accessible via the Tor Network since 2015.
Aside from selling illegal narcotics on the cybercriminal platform, it also offers the sale of spied-out data, forged documents, and other illicit digital services. Since its emergence, the marketplace has garnered over 17 million clients and over 19,000 accounts worldwide that trade illegal products and services.
The authorities have also raided Bitcoin Bank Mixer’s operations, a cryptocurrency mixer platform wherein users are allowed to launder ill-gotten funds.
According to reports, Hydra was the most notorious and largest underground market within the dark web that facilitated over $5 billion in cryptocurrency transactions since it began its operations in December 2015. It reached its prominence after a key competitor took off the landscape in 2017.
For this year, the underground marketplace had already earned over $424 million in sales, where $25 million of it had been confiscated by German law enforcement.
Although Hydra was focused on selling illegal drugs, it also listed several other cybercriminal toolsets such as forged documents, stolen data, and malicious digital services. It has also advertised its products and services in various countries, including Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus.
Upon visiting, Hydra’s website will now show a message posted by the German authorities to inform users about the marketplace being seized.
