US authorities seized 145 domains and an undisclosed quantity of cryptocurrency tied to BidenCash, a darkish internet market accused of trafficking tens of millions of stolen bank cards and private knowledge.
The motion, announced on June 5 by the US Lawyer’s Workplace for the Japanese District of Virginia, adopted a court-authorized operation focusing on the platform’s infrastructure and monetary flows. The seized domains are actually redirected to a regulation enforcement-controlled server.
BidenCash, launched in March 2022, had grown to over 117,000 customers and facilitated the sale of greater than 15 million stolen fee card numbers and different personally identifiable info. The platform generated over $17 million in income throughout its operation, in line with US officers.
The darkish internet market additionally bought compromised login credentials for unauthorized pc entry. Between October 2022 and February 2023, it launched 3.3 million stolen bank card data totally free, a tactic used to advertise its providers amongst cybercriminals and entice new customers.
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US wins courtroom approval to grab crypto
The US additionally secured courtroom authorization to grab cryptocurrency funds linked to BidenCash’s unlawful actions, although officers didn’t disclose the quantity of crypto recovered.
The case was led by the US Secret Service’s Frankfurt Resident Workplace, the company’s Cyber Investigative Part, and the FBI’s Albuquerque Discipline Workplace. The investigation is a part of a broader US effort to focus on crypto-enabled prison networks working on the darkish internet.
BidenCash’s seizure provides to a rising checklist of enforcement actions. In Might, Operation RapTor dismantled a number of darkish internet drug trafficking platforms, leading to 270 arrests throughout 10 international locations and the seizure of $200 million in property, together with giant quantities of cryptocurrency.
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US sanctions crypto addresses linked to Nemesis darknet
In March, US authorities sanctioned the operator of now-defunct online darknet marketplace Nemesis, which was used to facilitate the sale of medicine, false identification paperwork, professional hacking resources and a wide range of different illicit providers for cybercriminals.
The sanctioned property included 44 Bitcoin (BTC) addresses and 5 Monero (XMR) addresses, which, between July 2022 and March 2024, acquired greater than $850,000.
In 2024, darknet marketplaces generated over $1.7 billion in income, a slight increase from the previous 12 months, according to blockchain intelligence agency TRM Labs’ 2025 Crypto Crime Report.
The report famous that Russian-language darknet markets continued to dominate the ecosystem, primarily as a consequence of Russian authorities’ “low threat of enforcement motion.”
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