US authorities seized 145 domains and an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency tied to BidenCash, a dark web marketplace accused of trafficking millions of stolen credit cards and personal data.
The action, announced on June 5 by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, followed a court-authorized operation targeting the platform’s infrastructure and financial flows. The seized domains are now redirected to a law enforcement-controlled server.
BidenCash, launched in March 2022, had grown to over 117,000 users and facilitated the sale of more than 15 million stolen payment card numbers and other personally identifiable information. The platform generated over $17 million in revenue during its operation, according to US officials.
The dark web marketplace also sold compromised login credentials for unauthorized computer access. Between October 2022 and February 2023, it released 3.3 million stolen credit card records for free, a tactic used to promote its services among cybercriminals and attract new users.
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US wins court approval to seize crypto
The US also secured court authorization to seize cryptocurrency funds linked to BidenCash’s illegal activities, though officials did not disclose the amount of crypto recovered.
The case was led by the US Secret Service’s Frankfurt Resident Office, the agency’s Cyber Investigative Section, and the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office. The investigation is part of a broader US effort to target crypto-enabled criminal networks operating on the dark web.
BidenCash’s seizure adds to a growing list of enforcement actions. In May, Operation RapTor dismantled multiple dark web drug trafficking platforms, resulting in 270 arrests across 10 countries and the seizure of $200 million in assets, including large amounts of cryptocurrency.
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US sanctions crypto addresses linked to Nemesis darknet
In March, US authorities sanctioned the operator of now-defunct online darknet marketplace Nemesis, which was used to facilitate the sale of drugs, false identification documents, professional hacking resources and a variety of other illicit services for cybercriminals.
The sanctioned property included 44 Bitcoin (BTC) addresses and five Monero (XMR) addresses, which, between July 2022 and March 2024, received more than $850,000.
In 2024, darknet marketplaces generated over $1.7 billion in revenue, a slight increase from the previous year, according to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs’ 2025 Crypto Crime Report.
The report noted that Russian-language darknet markets continued to dominate the ecosystem, mainly due to Russian authorities’ “low risk of enforcement action.”
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