Europol has dismantled Archetyp Market, a prominent dark web marketplace, through coordinated raids across six countries. The operation led to the arrest of the alleged German administrator in Spain, along with a moderator and several major vendors in Germany and Sweden. Archetyp, which operated for five years, primarily used the privacy coin Monero (XMR) for transactions and had over 600,000 users, with a transaction volume exceeding 250 million euros. Despite law enforcement's efforts, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs reports that dark web markets are highly adaptable, with vendors shifting to platforms like Telegram and Signal to evade capture. Following the 2022 closure of the Hydra marketplace, new Russian markets emerged almost immediately. While law enforcement has made strides in shutting down these platforms, operators are increasingly employing tactics such as pseudonymous registrations and rapid rebranding to avoid detection. The Archetyp takedown highlights the need for ongoing international cooperation and innovative monitoring to combat evolving darknet threats. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news

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