Germany seizes €23 million-worth bitcoins, shuts down ‘Hydra’ market
German police have shut down Hydra, the world’s largest illegal dark web marketplace, and seized 543 bitcoins with a total value of around €23 million.
On Tuesday, Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), announced the takedown of Hydra, the world’s largest dark web marketplace.
“The Frankfurt am Main Public Prosecutor’s Office – Central Office for Combating Cybercrime ( ZIT ) – and the Federal Criminal Police Office ( BKA ) today, Tuesday, secured the server infrastructure in Germany of the world’s largest illegal Darknet marketplace ‘Hydra Market’ and thus closed it,” the BKA said in a press release. “Bitcoins amounting to currently the equivalent of approximately €23 million were seized, which are attributed to the marketplace.”
The police said the crackdown on the marketplace followed extensive investigations conducted by the BKA and the ZIT since August 2021.
It also added that U.S. authorities had been involved in the investigation, though the agencies were unnamed.
The Russian-language Darknet platform was launched via the Tor network in 2015, focusing on trading in illegal narcotics and serving as a platform for data, forged documents and other illicit digital services.
The police noted that 17 million customers and over 19,000 seller accounts were documented on the marketplace.
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