How Many People Use the Dark Web in 2026? (Secret Stats)

The dark web. Just uttering those words brings forth the image of a shadowy, underground market, home to all sorts of illicit and dangerous items sold by washed-up hackers in the corners of the deep web. For the uninitiated, it feels mythical, as though it only exists in the realm of imagination. But how many different people actually go to the dark web to actually purchase illicit items in those posts?  What does that image reflect in 2025?

You won’t just focus on a few random statistics; seek to understand the complex and ever-evolving ecosystem. For a long time, the numbers around dark web usage felt pretty nebulous, right? You would have heard numbers quoted, but it was hard to know how or where the numbers came from and what they meant. So, how many daily active users are we talking about? Well, according to the Tor Project’s 2024 metrics report, we’re looking at roughly 2.5 million daily Tor users globally.

In this article, you will find out how many people use the dark web and the corresponding activities popular in this hidden space.

The Dark Web

The dark web is encrypted online content used to remain anonymous online. It is a project of the US Department of Defense back in the 1990s to help spies communicate and roam around the internet without being tracked. Accessing this part of the internet requires the use of some software, particularly the Tor Network, in which the domain ends in .onion instead of .com.

There are now 65,000 websites on the Tor Network and growing. Contrary to popular belief, the dark web is used for both legal and illegal purposes. It is a host for legal information exchange for various fields requiring anonymity, particularly in journalism. Around 10% of the total sites with the .onion domain facilitate communication in the form of chat rooms and forums. The dark web protects users’ right to privacy and supports freedom of expression. On the other hand, it also makes engagement in criminal activities easier and more accessible.

Brief History and Its Evolution

The idea of the “dark web” may sound like something from the sci-fi future, but is based in efforts to create a secure, untraceable communication system. Probably the most famous gateway, Tor (The Onion Router), began as a project by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in the mid-1990s. He created Tor to allow intelligence operatives to communicate over the internet without their origin or destination being traceable. 

The initial idea was to create a network that routed user communications through multiple servers, encrypting the communications at each “layer”, similar to an onion, obscuring its true source and destination. The first iteration of this open-source program was then made public, and the core Tor project became a favored tool for privacy advocates, dissidents, and, unfortunately, illicit online actors. Tor’s original idea of multi-hop routing has not changed significantly since its inception. 

However, the underlying Tor technology has undergone considerable advancement in capabilities, especially as recently as 2025. The most popularly discussed advancement is Tor’s 2025 ‘Artemis’ update. This major technological upgrade to Tor introduced post-quantum encryption capabilities, a necessary step in countering theoretical quantum decryption efforts from state actors like the NSA. In other words, Tor is doing its best to mitigate the future vulnerabilities of supercomputer-aided decryption capabilities.

Essentially, to protect the fact that even if supercomputers evolve, they won’t reach the extent that they can easily decryption Tor’s encryption. So, it would be exactly that – a deed that ultimately provides at least a marginal additional layer of user lifespan security. Another crucial evolution has been the widespread adoption of new .onion v3 domains. These aren’t just new addresses; they come with improved cryptographic designs that make them far more resistant to brute-force attacks and easier to verify for authenticity.

It’s progress towards enhancing hidden services against potential attackers and the unending scourge of phishing for dark web users. That said, even this progress does not eliminate all risks associated with using Tor, and by extension, the dark web. The most significant vulnerability often lies at the exit nodes. Remember, these are the final relays where your encrypted traffic leaves the Tor network and potentially connects to the regular internet. Exit node operators remain vulnerable to snooping, as they can see your real IP address and unencrypted traffic if you’re not using a secure connection after the exit node.

This is why the common wisdom, repeated endlessly but for good reason, is: always, always pair Tor with a robust Virtual Private Network (VPN). A service like Mullvad (known for its strong privacy policies and audited no-logs claims) encrypts your connection before it even enters the Tor network, masking your IP address from the exit node operator and adding a vital layer of protection. Think of it as putting on a second, invisible cloak before you even step into the shadows.

Steering the dark web requires constant vigilance. Yes – Tor provides a framework for anonymity, but the technology is an ever-evolving field. And users must remain up-to-date on the latest security protocols and possible weaknesses to stay informed. The trend is always a game of cat-and-mouse between those who wish to remain anonymous and people who want to expose them. Keeping pace with them means knowing the technical distinctions.

Peeling Back the Layers: How Do We Even Count Dark Web Users?

Measuring dark web usage isn’t as straightforward as counting website visitors on the regular internet. There’s no Google Analytics for illicit markets, and users are actively trying to remain anonymous. So, how do researchers and intelligence agencies come up with this number? It’s a wonderful combination of technical analysis and guessing.

Tor Exit Node Traffic

First off, a significant portion of dark web user counts are extrapolated from Tor exit node traffic. Visualize Tor (The Onion Router) as the elementary access to the dark web. Assuming you access the internet via the Tor network, your internet traffic will bounce through a series of relays, or “nodes,” located around the world, with an encryption process at each hop.

The last relay, or “exit node,” is where your traffic comes back to the public internet (or to a hidden .onion service). By monitoring the traffic that goes through the exit nodes, researchers can come up with an estimation of how many active users have connected to the Tor network. This is not an exact count of individual users, but it gives a good indication of how active the Tor network is.

Blockchain Analysis of Crypto Transactions

In addition to Tor, another key approach is blockchain analysis of cryptocurrency transactions on known darknet marketplaces. Since most transactions on the dark web utilize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero, experts from firms such as Chainalysis can track money flowing to or from a wallet associated with these marketplaces. 

While we don’t know who is doing the transaction, it allows us to get an estimate of financial volume, which is directly correlated with the level of commercial activity on these platforms that is linked to the level of user engagement.

Academic Studies/Research

Furthermore, academic studies often contribute to these estimates by analyzing forum activity, public hidden service directories, and even through honeypots–controlled environments designed to attract and study dark web activity. Every method has limitations, but in concert, they provide an unexpectedly rich portrait of a frequently misunderstood digital domain. It is worth noting that figures are often estimates or forecasts, rather than strict verified tallies.

The very nature of the dark web makes precise measurement incredibly challenging. However, by combining these different data points and methodologies, experts can provide remarkably accurate insights into the scale and scope of dark web usage. The goal isn’t just to shock with big numbers, but to understand the underlying trends and the motivations driving people to these hidden corners of the internet.

How Many People Use the Dark Web in 2026?

1. The dark web has 2.5 million daily active users accessing underground sites with the Tor Network, also known as The Onion Router.

2. This network is open-source software, meaning its codes are available for public view, which enables anonymous communication on the Internet.

Market Share

3. It accounts for only 6% of the internet which it shares with the surface net and deep web.

4. Despite its relatively smaller compared to the deep web’s 90% market share, it consumes 75,000 terabytes of data.

5. It is home to nearly 3,000 hidden websites, 60% of which are engaged in some form of illegal activity.

6. The space saw record-breaking user growth in 2020 as mobility restrictions forced businesses to migrate transactions online.

7. It generated a cryptocurrency-adjusted revenue of $1.7 billion during the year.

Percentage of Dark Web Users per Country

8. More and more citizens are lured by the opportunities that lie in this hidden cyberspace. Here is a list of top dark web users per country and their respective market shares:

• United States – 34.81%
• Russia – 11.46%
• Germany – 7.16%
• The Netherlands – 6.92%
• France – 3.29%

Dark Web Users by Country

9. Dark web users, translated in numbers and the most common activities they engage in:

• United States – 831,911 American users use the dark web for the drug trade, fake documentation, user data
• Russia – 273,844 Russian users use it for Exploit Kits, data dumps, Cryptolocker/malware trading
• Germany – 171,009 German users use it for buying and selling Botnets, credit card, and debit card information, and fake documents
• The Netherlands – 165,281 daily Dutch users are on the dark web for trading narcotics, counterfeit items, and guns
• France – 78,714 French users are in the hidden cyberspace for pornography, trading stolen goods, and data dump

Where in the World Are People Diving into the Dark Web? A Regional Breakdown

When we talk about dark web usage, it’s far from evenly distributed across the globe. Some countries show significantly higher activity, and understanding why provides crucial context beyond just raw percentages. These aren’t just random spikes; there are often deeply rooted geopolitical, economic, and even cultural reasons behind them, all shaping the digital underground.

So, who’s where in the dark web landscape in 2025? Let’s break it down by the numbers, keeping in mind that these figures often represent Tor network usage, which is the primary gateway to the dark web:

The US

10. The United States consistently leads in overall Tor network users, a staggering figure that often surprises people. According to the Tor Project’s metrics for 2024-2025, the U.S. accounts for a significant portion of daily Tor users, hovering around 17.6% of the global total, representing over 387,000 daily users (Panda Security, Tor Project). 

11. When it comes to cumulative data from all sources, the US shows 34.81% of all dark web traffic.

12. Why the dominance? It’s a bit of a perfect storm. The U.S. has historically been a hotbed for darknet market hubs. It serves as an operational base for platforms like the infamous Silk Road and its numerous successors. 

13. These markets seek to serve large, rich consumer bases. Additionally, state-level lax cryptocurrency regulations in some states (e.g., Wyoming) have created loopholes that allow illicit funds to flow more freely, contributing to a more ideal environment for dark web commerce. 

14. It is a double-edged sword: technological advancement and a permissive financial climate can ultimately enable underground economies as well. 

Germany

15. Following closely, Germany often ranks second in daily Tor users, holding about 13.47% of the global share, with over 296,000 daily users (Panda Security, Tor Project). 

16. This high usage isn’t always about illicit activity; Germany has a strong cultural emphasis on privacy and data protection, which drives many to use tools like Tor for legitimate privacy reasons.

Russia

17. Then there’s Russia, a significant player whose dark web activity reflects a different kind of ecosystem. While its overall percentage of direct Tor users might fluctuate, Russia has consistently shown a high number of users connecting via hidden or undisclosed Tor bridges, reflecting efforts to bypass censorship. 

18. Some reports indicate Russia accounts for around 22% of dark web users when considering various access methods (Sci-Tech Today, TrueList). Presently, the story is one we’ve seen so many times before, piloted by state-sponsored cybercriminal links. 

19. But these aren’t rogue operatives, these are large organized crime groups operating with relative impunity, and attacking Western critical infrastructure. They utilize dark web forums like XSS as key means of communication for everything from operation planning to selling stolen data, as well as ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) kits. 

20. All of this is bolstered by the fact that members of the hacking community possess an extremely high level of technical ability and knowledge, compounded by a confusing relationship with law enforcement, which enhances the possible dark web involvement. 

Others

21. Some of the more interesting countries about Tor usage, for example, India has roughly 4.74% share of daily Tor users (Panda Security). And Finland has about 3.43% of daily Tor users (Panda Security).

22. The Netherlands also has a notable presence, often cited as around 3.33% of global users (Panda Security). Its strategic location, with easy proximity to major EU shipping routes, has made it a key transit point for drug trafficking, and darknet markets often facilitate these operations.

23. Add to that a relatively Bitcoin-friendly policy landscape in previous years, and you have an environment conducive to anonymous transactions for illicit goods. It’s a testament to how physical geography can still influence digital underground economies.

Regional Trends

What about regional trends? There is a definite change in the way users connect to the dark web, especially in areas where authoritarian regimes exist.

24. In these countries, like Iran and China, we see a definite increase in the use of Tor as an access medium. In the case of Iran, it is reported that approximately 81% of Iranian users are engaging bridges (including VPNs) to connect to Tor, indicating a ban on censorship in the country. 

25. In Iran specifically, the government blocked more than 70% of the country’s Internet and VPNs.

26. So, using Tor is essential not just to dissidents and journalists, but also to individuals seeking uncensored information and private communication. 

27. Again, such usage does not always revolve around illicit activities but evading the state surveillance systems to regain some type of digital freedom. This is the harsh reality that drives many to the safety of anonymity on the dark web, not necessarily by design, but by necessity. 

28. Moreover, there are also regions, such as Eastern Europe with remarkable dark web use, particularly metrics related to the origin and targets of cybercrime.

29. For example, a SOCRadar 2024 report indicated that Eastern Europe accounted for 8.24% of Dark Web posts targeting or mentioning organizations from that region, suggesting a hub of threat actor activity (SOCRadar).

Why do these regional differences matter? They underscore that the dark web isn’t a monolithic entity. Its usage patterns are a complex mosaic reflecting diverse motivations – from criminal enterprise and political activism to a simple desire for privacy. 

Understanding these nuanced regional dynamics, backed by solid data from organizations like Tor Metrics and cybersecurity firms like Chainalysis, is key to truly grasping the dark web’s global footprint. How do these regional patterns impact global cybersecurity? That’s a question worth pondering.

Internet Users Per Country that Uses Dark Web Technologies

30. Here are the top countries with internet users using anonymity technologies to gain access to the dark web:

• India – 26%
• Russia – 22%
• Brazil – 21%
• Indonesia – 20%
• Turkey – 16%

Dark Net Websites

Credits: unsplash.com

31. There are at least 38 darknet websites that are most commonly illegal versions of online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon.

32. These shops sell different ranges of services namely illicit drugs, marijuana, fake documents and certifications, firearms, and the like.

Dark Web Price Index for Forged Items

33. In a short context, the majority of the items sold on the dark web are illegal and have significantly lower prices compared to their real market value. Here are the most in-demand forged items and their prices:

• Forged EU Passport – $4,000
• Hacked Verified Coinbase Account – $610
• Android Malware with $1,000 Instances – $900
• Cloned Visa or Mastercard with PIN – $25
• Stolen Banking Login Credentials – $120

What’s Really for Sale on the Dark Web? Evolving Markets in 2025

The perception of the dark web as a bazaar of illicit goods is largely accurate. But the types of items, their prices, and the market dynamics are constantly shifting. It’s not just a static list; it’s a life, adapting economy driven by supply, demand, and increasingly, technological advancements.

34. Drug shops account for a big chunk of the total, generating $200 million in revenue during the start of the pandemic.

35. The dark web drug trade has grown along with the mass adoption of cryptocurrency.

36. Using crypto for payment transactions keeps identity anonymous since holders and receivers do not need to put their real personal information to transfer funds.

37. Fraud shops are also dominant players since they sell a variety of lucrative illicit money-making services.

38. These include selling bank account information and debit/credit card numbers, creating fake diplomas on Ivy League schools, and money laundering assistance.

39. Firearms shops account for 1% of the total market, with pistols accounting for 84% of the total listings.

AI-Generated “Deepfake IDs”

We see some interesting trends in 2025 from the previous years. The market for AI-generated ‘Deepfake IDs’ is an example. 

40. Now they’re spending $1,200 on this kind of fake ID cards and they’re state of the art, they’re sophisticated, and even have perfect biometrics on them. This is a whopping 300% rise in 2023, thanks mostly to the improved biometric checks now in place on certain services.

So, the shift has turned these AI-generated fakes into a premium commodity for bypassing verification systems. It’s a brutal reality that cutting-edge tech can be leveraged for serious fraud.

Stolen Financial Details

41. Conversely, some items have seen a price drop. Stolen banking credentials, for instance, have fallen to an average of $120 (down from around $250 in 2022). This isn’t because banks have magically become more secure; rather, it’s due to an oversupply on the market. 

42. Large-scale data breaches continue to dump millions of credentials onto the dark web, driving down their value.

Fake Vaccine Passports

43. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic came its coronavirus-flavored surge in contraband. There was a marked rise in counterfeit vaccine passports and fake COVID test results in 2020-21.

What these numbers are capturing is a surge because there is an urgent demand among people who simply are refusing to abide by what has been asked and what has been recommended in terms of public health strategies. While that particular surge has subsided, it highlighted how real-world events can directly impact dark web market trends.

Drugs

44. One of the biggest events in recent dark web history, the seizure of the Hydra Market in 2024, was a game changer. Hydra was the largest darknet marketplace, mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe. 

45. The seizure moved more than 60% of drug sales to smaller and nimbler platforms like Nemesis which are often AI-moderated. 

These newer platforms are more inherently resilient to takedowns and use decentralized structures, AI moderation and verification of vendors, and scam identification. It is a continuous cat-and-mouse game with law enforcement and these evolving markets.

Malware Packages

Beyond the well-known drugs, weapons, and stolen data, the dark web also features more niche items. You will find everything from zero-day attacks (software vulnerabilities unknown to the developer) to custom malware kits. 

The dark web keeps changing, with new products coming up due to technological developments and the old ones becoming extinct. If you want to understand these complexities it is important to remain within such conversations. And it’s not only for law enforcement but also for cybersecurity professionals burdened with monitoring threats as they emerge.

Top Cryptocurrencies Used in the Dark Web and Rate of Acceptance

When you think of dark web transactions, you likely think of Bitcoin. And mostly you’d be right.

46. Today, a growing number of cryptocurrencies emerge as accepted payment methods on the dark web. Below is the list of cryptocurrencies commonly used for dark web transactions and their rate of acceptance:

• Litecoin – 30%
• Dash – 20%
• Bitcoin Cash – 13%
• Ethereum – 9%
• Monero – 6%

47. Despite Bitcoin still enjoying a 100% acceptance rate and thereby remaining the most-used dark web cryptocurrency, gone were the days that it was the only token available for trading in the hidden space.

Bitcoin’s Dominance

48. Bitcoin is still king, even with the outflow of privacy coins. It reigns because BTC has broad liquid markets and a well-established infrastructure, even if it’s not really anonymous in a true sense on its own.

49. Let’s look at Monero (XMR). For a time Monero was held up as the ultimate privacy coin associated with dark web transactions.

50. Its added privacy to the business logic for each transaction is developed through the use of the proprietary RingCT (Ring Confidential Transactions) protocol, to protect actual transaction amounts and sender and receiver addresses, providing anonymity that is truly difficult to trace.

51. It’s a solid choice for true anonymity. However, its adoption on darknet markets hovers around 6%.

52. Why so low if it’s so private? The main reason is liquidity issues. Bitcoin is far more easily convertible to fiat currency (like USD or EUR) and has a massive trading volume.

53. For vendors and buyers, the convenience and ease of converting Bitcoin often outweigh Monero’s enhanced privacy features. Seriously, convenience often wins, even in the shadows.

54. So, how does Bitcoin remain dominant when it’s not truly anonymous? The answer lies in mixing services.

55. Wallet tools like Wasabi Wallet offer users the ability to “mix” their Bitcoin with other people’s transactions. This mixes the coins and adds a level of obstruction that makes it considerably harder for blockchain analysis firms to show which transaction belonged to an individual.

56. It’s similar to throwing a bunch of colored balls in a bag, mixing them up, and then pulling them out. The original color/ball, or the quadrant of each coin, makes it hard to identify the owner. While not foolproof, these services effectively anonymize BTC enough for many dark web purposes.

The Place of Emerging Tokens

57. What about emerging tokens? Since the dawn of Bitcoin, we’ve witnessed a considerable incursion of privacy coins. It’s common to anticipate uncommon increases for coins such as Zcash and Pirate Chain as they also possess privacy features.

58. They have attracted a very limited audience of those interested in privacy coins, but they have not gone mainstream with where bitcoin most takes place, the darknet markets.

59. Again, liquidity is a major factor. The network effect of Bitcoin, combined with the availability of mixing services, keeps it at the top.

60. However, the 2025 landscape shows an interesting, and somewhat counterintuitive, trend: privacy coins are facing increasing regulatory bans and pressure from governments.

61. This has led to a shift in how darknet markets operate. Alarmingly, 90% of EU darknet markets now accept stablecoins (like USDT, USDC, or DAI).

62. Why stablecoins, which are pegged to fiat and therefore more trackable? As a matter of strategy – to sidestep the extreme volatility of traditional cryptocurrencies.

And possibly, they bypass stricter anti-money laundering (AML) laws that are increasingly targeting privacy coins. It’s a trade-off: less anonymity for more stability, and ease in conversion – one indicator of markets responding to external pressures.

The ongoing evolution of the usage of cryptocurrency on the dark web reveals the tension between illicit actors and privacy-first advocates, against the backdrop of enforcement agencies vying to protect us from cybercrime. The selection of currency use becomes a choice based on multifaceted liquidity, risk of regulatory surprise, and personal sense of security.

The Other Side of the Coin: Law Enforcement and User Security in Dark Web Venues

While much of the conversation surrounding the dark web highlights illicit activity, it is important to recognize the enablement of increasingly sophisticated strategies by law-enforcing authorities in combating dark web operations. 

This is not the Wild West it once was; agencies too are employing cutting-edge techniques, along with international partnerships to take down a crime enterprise at its source.

63. One of the most potent initiatives is Europol’s ‘Dark Atlas’ initiative. Born in 2025, this initiative takes law enforcement methods to an entirely different level.

64. ‘Dark Atlas’ utilizes AI to scrape and analyze 10,000 dark web pages per day. While previously, law enforcement agencies could discover new markets, this is about much more than new markets – it’s about mapping networks, identifying players, and observing transaction flow at an unprecedented level.

65. The result? A remarkable 40% takedown rate for illicit markets was identified through the program. This shows that the age of unassailable dark web anonymity for large-scale operations is slowly but surely coming to an end.

66. In addition, specialized sections of agencies (e.g. INTERPOL), are creating dark web task forces. These teams collaborate with cybersecurity companies and use tools like Chainalysis to track cryptocurrency transactions.

67. Chainalysis, for example, can de-anonymize Bitcoin transactions by following the “money” through mixers and exchanges, usually connecting them to identifiable personas. They’ve been at the center of many investigations and arrests.

68. They have proven that even “anonymous” cryptocurrency can be traced. You leave a trail of discriminating crumbs after you, without knowing.

User Safety

But what about user safety? For those of you who may be looking to enter the dark web for legitimate purposes – e.g. the journalist looking for censored documents, the activist seeking information from an oppressive regime, or just the curious mind – you should always be careful. One wrong click can infect your device with malware, hack your bank account, or you may end up even worse. Here are some critical safety tips, repeated because they’re that important:

• Verify .onion URLs via Dark.fail’s PGP-signed updates: The dark web is rife with phishing sites – fake .onion clones designed to steal your credentials or infect your device. Dark.fail is a trusted resource that provides regularly updated, PGP-signed lists of legitimate darknet market URLs. Always check this source before clicking any link. It’s your first line of defense against a digital mugging.
• Use Tails OS: For the utmost level of anonymity and security, always use Tails OS. This is a “live” operating system that can be booted from a USB stick, leaving no trace on the host machine you’re using. It defaults to routing all internet traffic over Tor and includes a range of privacy-protecting software. And crucially it’s designed to thwart device fingerprinting, which is the way that websites can sniff out your particular browser or operating system or hardware, even if your actual internet address is hidden. 
• Start using antivirus: Seriously. Even on Tails, and if you ever use Tor on a regular OS, to reiterate one last time, always, always use a good, updated antivirus program. Shady downloads and dangerous links are always a risk. 
• Don’t tell them anything personal: Yeah, yeah, but we can all lapse here. One: Don’t use your real name, real email address, or anything that a determined person could trace back to your real identity. 
• Strong, unique passwords are key: This is obvious for any online activity, but it’s particularly important on the dark web, where breaches happen more frequently. The dark web is a tightrope. It demands expertise, caution, and the right tools. Better safe than sorry — your digital security will thank you.

The Future of the Dark Web: Decentralization, Artificial Intelligence, and a New Frontier 

So, what does that future look like on the dark web? It’s not a static beast by any means. The direction of today’s trends – the spread of technology, pressure for more intensive law enforcement, and the push toward anonymity – suggest the evolution will be interesting, albeit possibly a little alarming. Decentralized marketplaces are predicted to dominate by 2026, according to various experts. Picture instead a darknet market that lacks the dependence on a single, vulnerable server and a central administrator.

Haven is among the projects leading this movement, structured through the use of Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs). In a DAO-centric market, operations are managed by a group of users. So law enforcement has a hell of a time targeting one point of malfunction (downside) in this market. This pivot to censorship resistance in turn could make traditional snatches less useful, driving law enforcement to further refine their tactics. It’s like trying to close a network with no central brain. AI will also be used more universally.

Apart from this moderating role of markets, we should anticipate the appearance of AI-curated ‘trust scores’ of vendors. This may be a game-changer in reducing fraud, which has long been a harsh fact of life on the dark web. With some AI, the transaction histories, user reviews, and even the personal communication of a seller could be analyzed to produce a reliability score, perhaps increasing the safety of transactions for buyers. Smarter scammers, of course, could try to game the system.

Another encouraging trend would be the increased adoption of blockchain for identity solutions by reputable users. Just consider the potential to verify your identity, or your reputation, without the need to even disclose your actual name, all thanks to the immutable and secure foundation of a blockchain. Though for the “clear web” rather than the dark web, these technologies might make their way to the dark web to facilitate trusted, identity-hidden, communities for specific reasons. But the cat-and-mouse game with the government authorities will only escalate.

As the technical capabilities of the dark web grow, so, will the tools and tactics of agencies such as Europol and INTERPOL. We can expect further investment in AI power intelligence gathering, advanced cryptocurrency tracing, and international joint operations to disrupt these networks. The objective for law enforcement isn’t so much to stamp out the dark web altogether — an impossibility, given the size of the internet and criminals’ creativity — but to make it harder and riskier for large-scale criminal enterprises to flourish.

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