Abacus Market, once the top Bitcoin-enabled darknet marketplace, has vanished from online presence while running away with user funds in a likely exit scam. Users have noted that the platform has suddenly gone offline, making all of its services inaccessible.
According to TRM Labs, this was likely an exit scam but there could also be the possibility of a secret law enforcement takedown.The shutdown came right after police took down Archetyp Market in June 2025, as per a TRM report.
Not long after, Abacus users began having trouble getting their money out. The site’s admin, who goes by ‘Vito’, said the delays were due to too many new users joining and a cyberattack.
But most users didn’t believe him, and most darknet users didn’t buy the explanation. As trust fell, so did the deposits. Between June 1 and 27, Abacus saw $230,000 daily deposits. By early July, that figure dropped to merely $13,000.
Rise and Fall of Abacus
Abacus launched in 2021 as Alphabet Market before rebranding later that year. Though it served a global user base, it especially targeted the Australian market. The platform sold everything from opioids and psychedelics to prescription drugs and cannabis. It supported both Bitcoin and Monero, making transactions harder to trace.
By 2024, Abacus captured over 70% of the Bitcoin darknet market. Its rise came after key rivals like ASAP Market and Incognito shut down. In total, it processed close to $100 million in Bitcoin sales, though the actual volume was likely between $300 million and $400 million due to Monero usage.
Pressure and Collapse
Many Archetyp users switched to Abacus after it was shut down. Abacus’s sales reached a record $6.3 million by June 2025. However, too much attention was drawn to that unexpected expansion. The people in charge of Abacus likely decided to shut it down and vanish when more users and government enforcement began to monitor it.
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