Darknet loves to pay with Bitcoin - Research

Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in Darknet.
The second and third places go to Litecoin and Monero.

Tanya Abrosimova Independent Analyst

Analysts from the Block studied the payment options on Darknet marketplaces and found out that Bitcoin (BTC) is still the most popular coin in this segment. It is followed by Monero (XMR) и Litecoin (LTC).

The experts analyzed 49 out of 85 existing trading platforms in the Darknet, mentioned in the recent research of Chainalysis. Other marketplaces were either blocked by the authorities or appeared to be exit scams. Some of them were victims of continuous DDoS attacks.

The research revealed that all but one marketplaces allow payments in BTC; 22 of them offer LTC as a papyemt option. Monero (XMR) can be used only on 14 platforms.

The analysts believe that the first cryptocurrency owes its popularity to high liquidity and wider adoption. Bitcoin is not suitable fo Darknet purposes as it is not anonymous. However, buyers and sellers can use so called mixers like Wasabi Wallet и Whirlpool to hide tracks, the researchers added.

Monero (XMR) is often considered as a favorite coin of bad guys due to its focus on privacy and anonymity. Meanwhile. Litecoin (LTC) is not an obvious choice as it is neither liquid no pirvate enough.

At the time of writing, BTC/USD is changing hands above $11,700. The upside momentum has been gaining traction after the price broke above $11,300-$11,350 area. The next resistance is created by psychological $12,000. Once it is out of the way, the bullish momentum may start snowballing.

Author

Tanya Abrosimova

Independent Analyst

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