Study: Bitcoin Remains the Most Popular Darknet Cryptocurrency

The Block analysts studied the payment options on darknet markets. It turned out that after Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrencies are Monero (XMR) and Litecoin (LTC).

Experts analyzed 49 of the 85 active marketplaces mentioned in a Chainalysis analytics startup’s study. The remaining sites were either shut down by law enforcement, or turned out to be exit scams, or subjected to permanent DDoS attacks.

Operators of 48 of the 49 darknet marketplaces offered payments in BTC, 22 in XMR, 14 LTC.

Cryptocurrencies supported by darknet marketplaces. Source: The Block

The popularity of the first cryptocurrency was attributed by analysts to its liquidity, widespread adoption, and active use of mixers such as Wasabi Wallet and Samourai Wallet. They added that Bitcoin’s inherently lower level of privacy makes it less suitable for the darknet.

While XMR’s broad presence on such marketplaces is understandable given the coin’s private properties, the existence of LTC surprised experts, who noted its lack of privacy and liquidity as a Bitcoin fork.

Analysts also concluded that many darknet marketplaces encourage more active use of XMR.

“Unlike Bitcoin, Monero transactions are fully private due to its architecture. No one can see how much XMR you have, to which addresses you send coins, or where you receive them from. Therefore we recommend using this cryptocurrency,” the site said.

Some platforms have begun to operate exclusively with this confidential coin. For payments in Bitcoin, they use third-party services that perform instant conversion.

What is Monero (XMR)?

As noted by Rand Corporation analysts, Bitcoin is also being used more actively.

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