One of the most well-known dark markets is looking to add support for ethereum in the coming weeks.A moderator for AlphaBay – one of the world's most popular dark markets, according to data from DeepDotWeb – took to Reddit over the weekend to announce that it would integrate ether payments beginning on 1st May.According to a PGP-signed moderator post on the AlphaBayMarket subreddit, recent price increases drove the integration decision.The moderator wrote: "We are currently laying out the framework to make ETH acceptance possible, and we will enable ethereum deposits and withdrawals starting May 1st, 2017.Vendors wishing to accept ethereum can edit their listings and set the 'Accept ETH' to 'On' in order to be able to be paid in ethereum."It's not the first time the market has looked to digital currencies beyond bitcoin for listing.AlphaBay previously made waves in August 2016 when the market announced the integration of privacy-centric digital currency monero as a payment.The moderator indicated that other platform upgrades are pending.

"We have plenty of new stuff in the works, so expect more updates in the near future," they said.Image via Shutterstock The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.the bitcoin bible free downloadPrevious Article Bitcoin Exchange Trial Ends With Two Convictions Next Article Coinbase Targets Institutional Traders With Margin Feature...afd bitcoinEthereum Sign up or log in to customize your list.bitcoin oil cooling_ Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question Anybody can answer The best answers are voted up and rise to the top up vote 5 down vote favorite 1 First, I don't support sale of illicit items.

Having said that, wouldn't the implementation of ethereum on the darkweb prevent the host from running off with the funds?darkweb up vote 4 down vote /SafeMarket/dapp It's still in pretty early alpha, but it works and has an interesting sub-market model, kind of like subreddits.up vote 8 down vote Having said that, wouldn't the implementation of ethereum on the darkweb prevent the host from running off with the funds?Theoretically, you can use multisig to make a dark market even on bitcoin that is decentralized and doesn't have the host problem.However, the tooling around ethereum is at this point substantially more advanced so it would definitely be easy to code such functionality.You can probably also do cool stuff around zero-knowledge proofs or linkable ring signatures on top of blockchain-based KYC schemes (surprisingly enough) to limit the number of (still securely pseudonymous) accounts that users can create and thereby reduce the incidence of scams as reputation can actually go negative if you do something really bad and you actually can't just create a new account.

Your Answer Sign up or log in Sign up using Google Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest Name Email discard By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.Browse other questions tagged darkweb or ask your own question.According to a message on /r/Alphabay and /r/darknetmarkets, Alphabay developers are currently in the process of finalizing a framework for Ethereum transactions.Starting May 1, the marketplace will allow the sending and receiving of yet another cryptocurrency.In addition to its original Bitcoin support, Alphabay opened up support for Monero in 2016.The value of ETH recently spiked in value.And the Alphabay message acknowledged the recent increase in value.According to the Alphabay staff, this increase in value showed a growing interest in the currency.Other entities attributed this spike to a growing interest too.However, Aurelien Menant, CEO of a blockchain based exchange, explained that the interest came from an added “legitimacy” to the platform.

Many Ethereum supporters hoped criminal activity would occur on Ethereum Classic.Ethereum Classic (ETC) naturally formed after the platform controversially hard forked into the Ethereum of today.To shortly summarize ETC: explanations of the original platform usually include the words “ghost town.” Below is the text from the PGP signed message Alphabay staff wrote: “Following the popularity of the new altcoin Ethereum and the recent price hike showing a growing interest, Alphabay has made the decision to start accepting Ethereum for marketplace listing purchases.We are currently laying out the framework to make ETH acceptance possible, and we will enable Ethereum deposits and withdrawals starting May 1st, 2017.Vendors wishing to accept Ethereum can edit their listings and set the “Accept ETH” to “On” in order to be able to be paid in Ethereum.We have plenty of new stuff in the works, so expect more updates in the near future.” The news quickly spread beyond Reddit and hit mainstream news.

With Monero, Alphabay’s adoption of the currency spiked the trading value and profited those who held Monero—consequently dubbed “the drug dealer’s cryptocurrency of choice.” The majority of the conversations taking place focus on either Ethereum’s monetary value or the platform’s lack of privacy.Monero (XMR) spiked from almost nothing to about $15.But Monero held little to no reputability in the community, and lacked name recognition.Users on /r/Ethereum argued that Ethereum’s current standing and corporate adoption will prevent darknet changes from making significant impacts on the platform and/or cryptocurrency value.Unlike Monero or Bitcoin for that matter, Ethereum provides more than an open-ledger payment system.Users called it “the next http.” Google’s “Interest over time” for Ethereum So that’s where we stand following the Alphabay announcement.Arguments surrounding the benefit this step provides—or lack thereof—dominate the Reddit posts.