In addition to these tools, the market offers access to compromised accounts, VPN services, and digital identities, making it a hub for individuals involved in illegal activities like hacking, identity theft, and other forms of cybercrime. Much like familiar e-commerce platforms, dark web marketplaces are organized to offer a smooth buying and selling experience. However, they aren’t visible on the open internet and require specialized browsers like Tor to access.
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For example, cocaine moves across Brazil to its key seaports from not only the TBA but from all the regions bordering Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay function as both final destinations and transit points for this cocaine. Brazil and Uruguay especially, have emerged in recent years as a key source for large shipments of the drug destined for Europe, Africa and the rest of the world. Our research clearly illustrated that cocaine functions as a key driver of organized crime in this region. It also facilitates corollary crimes like corruption, homicides, money laundering, fraud and contributes to an escalating cycle of lethal violence by OCGs and security forces in the region. Hezbollah, as another example, also has long-standing ties to the area and its members are able to camouflage their presence and nefarious activities by embedding themselves within the substantial Arab community that resides here.
Other products, such as guns, electronics, alcoholic beverages, toys, food items, pesticides etc. were significant, but purposefully left out of our study. Cryptocurrencies, while offering enhanced privacy, also present significant risks. Users face vulnerabilities like market volatility, scams involving fake escrow services, compromised wallets, or theft through phishing schemes targeting crypto transactions. Furthermore, inexperienced users unfamiliar with secure cryptocurrency practices are particularly susceptible to these threats, risking the loss of their entire funds. On the Black market, locals accept a much worse exchange rate in order to discard of their pesos; often trading for half of what Argentina’s government indicates they are worth. But why would they swarm illegal channels to trade pesos for way above the official exchange rate?
According to the latest figures at 18 October 2013, Argentina’s Central bank has lost US$ 9 billion from their international reserves since the beginning of the year, which is at a rate of US$ 31.1 million each day. Compare this to the US inflation rate of 1.5% and you can understand how blown out it is. Since government restrictions have made it nearly impossible to legally acquire US dollars, Argentinians turn to the Black Market to escape the uncertainty of the peso.
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From talking to several cuevas and to my Argentinian friends, it sounds like it’s still uncommon for a typical person to use crypto to move money around directly. More likely, they go to a cueva and the cueva does the transaction for them, and the person doesn’t realize that the cueva was using crypto behind the scenes to do it. Another use is to pay someone in USD (usually in a stablecoin) in exchange for physical pesos.
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Those mostly directly affected by the change are the ones who had depended on the black market as a primary source of income. Without a constant flow of tourists supplementing the existing float with their foreign cash, the entire underground market would collapse. Simply, the amount of foreign currency circulating on the Black Market would not sustain the local demand. The equivalent of US$ 80 billion has been withdrawn from savings accounts over the last 5 years.
Argentines Turn To Black Market Dollars As Crisis Worsens
- To expand their reach, some marketplaces established parallel channels on Telegram.
- Incognito Market runs 20,000+ listings and $2.8 million monthly trades with BTC and XMR, holding a 5% market stake.
- When they could finally extract money again, they found that (a) their USD deposits had to be exchanged for pesos and (b) pesos had lost 2/3 of their value.
- Moreover, the rise of cocktail culture and mixology trends has elevated the status of dark spirits, positioning them as essential ingredients for innovative beverage formulations.
A pharmacist in Nebraska allegedly planned to firebomb a local competitor after stealing their opiate supply, in service of what officials say was his booming narcotics trafficking business. To keep a closer eye on your personal information, you can use services like NordStellar’s dark web monitoring. This solution scans dark web forums to alert you if your data is being listed, traded, or otherwise exposed. The dark web alert system is designed to urge you to take action before any significant harm is done. Malicious vendors often infect buyers with spyware, ransomware, or infostealer malware hidden in downloadable files.
Finding a trusted dark web marketplace can be difficult, but we offer everything users need for a safe and smooth experience. Background research tasks included learning from past drug lords, researching legal matters, studying law enforcement agency tactics and obtaining legal representation. Patterns recommended to avoid include hiring hitmen like Dread Pirate Roberts, and sharing handles for software questions on sites like Stack Exchange. Archetyp’s takedown might make headlines, but it won’t stop the trade of illicit drugs on the dark web.
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The current blue rate is 9.40 ARS for 1.00 USD, opposed to the much lower government-regulated 5.85 ARS for 1.00 USD. After all, you are here to do something that over 17,000 people have ‘liked’ on Facebook… You have come to the Black Market in Buenos Aires to exchange money. “Travelers from the U.S., Canada and Europe are incredibly accustomed to flipping out their debt card and tapping the credit card charge machine,” said Jed Rothenberg, director of LandingPadBA, a travel agency focused on Buenos Aires. They fear another “corralito,” or a “little corral,” a period in the nation’s history when the government seized deposits during economic crises. “It’s going to be some random office in a building and every Argentinian who has any money at all does this a few times a week,” Devon Zuegel, a writer and software engineer who lives part of the year in Argentina, said on a recent economics podcast. But in contrast, Argentina has a long history of high inflation and hyperinflation that, experts said, largely stems from economic mismanagement.
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Also, with the rate of inflation constantly diminishing the value of the peso, “freezing” assets with a more stable currency is necessary. What’s more, a more favorable exchange rate attracts American tourists, who bring their U.S. dollars into the country, with the added benefit of spending locally and supporting the economy, she said. While announced as a package today, the arrests in the US have trickled through over the last several months. In a press conference Tuesday morning, DEA acting administrator Timothy Shea specifically called out Arden McCann, allegedly known as RCQueen, DRXanax, and other aliases across numerous dark web markets. Arrested earlier this year, McCann allegedly shipped over 10 2kilograms of fentanyl and over 300,000 counterfeit Xanax pills every month. Some dark web listings claim to offer services like hacking-for-hire or even hitmen.
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These closures bind users together and foster a shared resilience and collective experience in navigating these environments. The concept of darknets emerged as a response to concerns about digital privacy and government surveillance. One of the most well-known technologies enabling darknets is the Tor network, which was developed by the U.S.
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Some now offer customer support, escrow systems to prevent fraud, and even user-friendly interfaces that make illegal trade feel strangely routine. Still, the dangers are severe — exposure to scams, malware, surveillance, and prosecution are just the beginning. The Covid-19 pandemic shed further light on supply chain disruptions, which will lead to companies re-thinking their logistics networks in the long term. We noted this in our previous article where FMCG companies, such as Unilever, partnered directly with delivery services apps to deliver their products using a ‘direct-to-consumer’ model.
This is especially true for the “wholesalers” called “cuevas mayoristas,” who are responsible for delivering large amounts of cash to smaller retail cuevas. On every payday, the first stop many Argentinians make is to the cuevas (the illegal money exchanges), where they can swap their ARS for USD. This can save them trips to Estonia, the US, or wherever they would’ve had to open their bank accounts.
With this exchange, your money goes 3x farther in Argentina and you are STILL paying the locals the same amount of pesos. In all cases, the relationships between different groups—of alliance or competition—are also opportunistic and vary over time. Turf-wars between rival factions are common, with the result that the cities and towns on all sides of the TBA are characterized by some of the highest homicide rates, both in their respective countries and the region more generally.
