Germany’s security services have captured a major market in the dark network called Hydra attributed to Russian speakers. The market has been used, according to estimates, among other things, to launder money from ransomware attacks around the world.
Hydra rose rapidly and became the most prominent Russian-language Darknet market following the closure of a major competitor in 2017. The platform specialized in drug sales – although listings on the site also included forged documents, data (such as credit card information) and digital services. “Products have been put up for sale in a number of countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan,” according to an elliptic publication. Hydra also had other offers – including a crypto-cash conversion service. ”
A statement from the US Treasury Department said: “Russia is a haven for cybercriminals. Today’s action against Hydra and Garantex is based on recent sanctions against the SUEX and CHATEX virtual currency exchanges, both of which, like Garantex, operated from the Federation Tower in Moscow, Russia. ”
In addition to sanctions on Hydra, more than 100 addresses of virtual currencies used to carry out illegal transactions were identified.
The investigation identified about $ 8 million in revenue from ransomware that went through Hydra accounts, including those of the ransomware groups Ryuk, Sodinokibi and Conti. According to blockchain researchers, about 86 percent of the illegal bitcoin received directly on the virtual currency exchanges in 2019 came from Hydra.
Hydra’s revenue rose dramatically from less than $ 10 million in 2016, to more than $ 1.3 billion in 2020. “This growth in profit is made possible by Hydra’s connection with Russian illegal financing,” the US publication said.
Following the closure of the site – which was apparently hosted in Germany – authorities announced that they had seized Bitcoin (BTC) worth $ 25.3 million today. Elliptic Forensics’ blockchain analysis tool confirms that the seizure occurred on April 5, 2022 in a series of 88 transactions totaling 543.3 BTC. According to a press release issued by the German authorities, the action against the operators and managers of the platform has been ongoing since August 2021.
Elliptic has recently identified more than 400 crypto-asset exchanges operating in Russia, or offering ruble trading – most of which allow users to trade anonymously.
‘The Hydra market was the largest Darknet market, allowing a cumulative $ 5 billion turnover. For comparison, when Alphabay was apprehended, the FBI estimated that the market allowed for a cumulative billion-dollar deal, “Elliptic’s publicity reports.
Hydra’s reputation has been built on a number of factors, not only has it been successful since 2015 and remains a market leader since 2017 – a status other markets can only dream of – but in recent years it has been the only major market to address a predominantly Russian user base. With listings directed to a number of Eastern European countries. “