Darknet Customers Are Demanding Monero[XMR]
The dark web has started to embrace Monero, a privacy-conscious alternative to Bitcoin.
First, the operators of SIGAINT, a commonly used dark web email provider, decided to host a full node for Monero light wallets.
Then, an eight-month-old darknet market called Oasis decided to allow vendors to accept Monero.
Finally, Alphabay, the largest darknet market in operation right now, announced the first phase of Monero implementation on their platform.
Staff members at Alphabay and Oasis say that customers and vendors have simply demanded the Monero option.
“It's a lot more secure than Bitcoin, especially when it comes to obfuscation,” said an anonymous member of the Alphabay support staff.
Although the darknet marketplaces tend to get negative press, the reality is that many of them bend over backwards for their customers; at least until they (some of them) exit scam.
“We have received a lot of requests about it; we've studied the cryptocurrency, and we've decided to implement it,” said an Oasis staff member. “This is what we do when users (both customers and vendors) suggest that we implement or change features. We love to hear back from everyone.”
The hidden service set up by the operators of SIGAINT acts in a manner similar to Electrum for those who are familiar with that particular Bitcoin wallet. The hidden service allows individuals to use lightweight Monero clients as opposed to running a full node on their own. When visiting the hidden service via the Tor Browser, information about Monero is shown, including the following message:
"The SIGAINT operators firmly believe that Monero is the next logical step in Darknet commerce. It solves most of the privacy problems that plague cryptocurrency systems such as Bitcoin."
Why Not Dash or Zcash?
In addition to their reasons for supporting Monero, the SIGAINT operators have reasons not to prefer other options, such as Dash or Zcash. In the case of Dash, the site operators are wary of possible collusion by that digital currency’s supernodes. With Zcash, the operators are concerned about the company’s registration in the United States, the fact that mixing is done on an opt-in basis and the possibility of secret inflation initiated by the maintainers of the system.
Monero’s price increase seems to be on the heels of its adoption as a currency on several darknet marketplaces. Darknet marketplaces became a large part of the cultural fabric after Silk Road, which depended on bitcoins so customers could purchase digital currency.
Darknet Marketplaces have long focused on Bitcoin, but as recent issues in the Bitcoin industry – such as the block size debate and increasing scrutiny on identities behind wallet addresses – it would make sense for the darknet marketplace space to explore alternatives, especially in an industry – alt-coins – where so many seem eager to earn new adopters in order to increase price increase, and thus, more adopters.
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