Dark web drug marketplace fuelled by crypto goes offline

Experts who follow the dark web – and some of Empire Market’s users – are wondering about what became of the site’s administrators, who aren’t known. — Dreamstime/TNS

A popular dark net marketplace for buying and selling drugs has been offline for three days, fuelling speculation about its fate and despair among some users.

Empire Market, similar to the infamous Silk Road site shut down by law enforcement in October 2013, had become one of the most trafficked illicit online marketplaces in recent years, following the demise of other sites such as AlphaBay and Hansa. In addition to selling drugs, Empire Market offered fake documentation like passports and drivers’ licenses and off-the-shelf malware.