Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces

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Standard

Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces. / ElBahrawy, Abeer; Alessandretti, Laura; Rusnac, Leonid; Goldsmith, Daniel; Teytelboym, Alexander; Baronchelli, Andrea.

I: Scientific Reports, Bind 10, Nr. 1, 18827, 2020.

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt

Harvard

ElBahrawy, A, Alessandretti, L, Rusnac, L, Goldsmith, D, Teytelboym, A & Baronchelli, A 2020, 'Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces', Scientific Reports, bind 10, nr. 1, 18827. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y

APA

ElBahrawy, A., Alessandretti, L., Rusnac, L., Goldsmith, D., Teytelboym, A., & Baronchelli, A. (2020). Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces. Scientific Reports, 10(1), [18827]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y

Vancouver

ElBahrawy A, Alessandretti L, Rusnac L, Goldsmith D, Teytelboym A, Baronchelli A. Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1). 18827. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y

Author

ElBahrawy, Abeer ; Alessandretti, Laura ; Rusnac, Leonid ; Goldsmith, Daniel ; Teytelboym, Alexander ; Baronchelli, Andrea. / Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces. I: Scientific Reports. 2020 ; Bind 10, Nr. 1.

Bibtex

@article{175d3d744dff438383c937458e1c8ca3,
title = "Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces",
abstract = "Dark web marketplaces are websites that facilitate trade in illicit goods, mainly using Bitcoin. Since dark web marketplaces are unregulated, they do not offer any user protection, so police raids and scams regularly cause large losses to marketplace participants. However, the uncertainty has not prevented the proliferation of dark web marketplaces. Here, we investigate how the dark web marketplace ecosystem reorganises itself following marketplace closures. We analyse 24 separate episodes of unexpected marketplace closure by inspecting 133 million Bitcoin transactions among 38 million users. We focus on “migrating users” who move their trading activity to a different marketplace after a closure. We find that most migrating users continue their trading activity on a single coexisting marketplace, typically the one with the highest trading volume. User migration is swift and trading volumes of migrating users recover quickly. Thus, although individual marketplaces might appear fragile, coordinated user migration guarantees overall systemic resilience.",
author = "Abeer ElBahrawy and Laura Alessandretti and Leonid Rusnac and Daniel Goldsmith and Alexander Teytelboym and Andrea Baronchelli",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020, The Author(s).",
year = "2020",
doi = "10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y",
language = "English",
volume = "10",
journal = "Scientific Reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "nature publishing group",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Collective dynamics of dark web marketplaces

AU - ElBahrawy, Abeer

AU - Alessandretti, Laura

AU - Rusnac, Leonid

AU - Goldsmith, Daniel

AU - Teytelboym, Alexander

AU - Baronchelli, Andrea

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020, The Author(s).

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Dark web marketplaces are websites that facilitate trade in illicit goods, mainly using Bitcoin. Since dark web marketplaces are unregulated, they do not offer any user protection, so police raids and scams regularly cause large losses to marketplace participants. However, the uncertainty has not prevented the proliferation of dark web marketplaces. Here, we investigate how the dark web marketplace ecosystem reorganises itself following marketplace closures. We analyse 24 separate episodes of unexpected marketplace closure by inspecting 133 million Bitcoin transactions among 38 million users. We focus on “migrating users” who move their trading activity to a different marketplace after a closure. We find that most migrating users continue their trading activity on a single coexisting marketplace, typically the one with the highest trading volume. User migration is swift and trading volumes of migrating users recover quickly. Thus, although individual marketplaces might appear fragile, coordinated user migration guarantees overall systemic resilience.

AB - Dark web marketplaces are websites that facilitate trade in illicit goods, mainly using Bitcoin. Since dark web marketplaces are unregulated, they do not offer any user protection, so police raids and scams regularly cause large losses to marketplace participants. However, the uncertainty has not prevented the proliferation of dark web marketplaces. Here, we investigate how the dark web marketplace ecosystem reorganises itself following marketplace closures. We analyse 24 separate episodes of unexpected marketplace closure by inspecting 133 million Bitcoin transactions among 38 million users. We focus on “migrating users” who move their trading activity to a different marketplace after a closure. We find that most migrating users continue their trading activity on a single coexisting marketplace, typically the one with the highest trading volume. User migration is swift and trading volumes of migrating users recover quickly. Thus, although individual marketplaces might appear fragile, coordinated user migration guarantees overall systemic resilience.

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y

DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-74416-y

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33139743

AN - SCOPUS:85094911233

VL - 10

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

IS - 1

M1 - 18827

ER -

ID: 269505491