Monopoly Market

Monopoly Market was a mid-sized darknet marketplace operating on the Tor network from March to December 2021 before being seized in an international law enforcement operation. The market specialized in narcotics sales but also offered digital fraud tools and counterfeit documents. Europol announced the takedown on December 7, 2021 as part of 'Operation Dark HunTor,' which involved agencies from 8 countries. German prosecutors revealed the market's servers were physically located in Germany, making it vulnerable to seizure. Unlike markets that exit scam, Monopoly was actively dismantled by authorities, resulting in arrests of both administrators and key vendors. The seizure revealed poor operational security measures, including a failure to fully anonymize server locations. As of 2023, any sites claiming to be Monopoly Market are confirmed scams or law enforcement honeypots. The case demonstrated improved international coordination against darknet markets following earlier operations like DisrupTor.