Around 6 months ago, Abraxas leaked a clearnet IP address -- meaning they more or less exposed the physical location of their servers to everyone (LE).
This was a huge shitstorm on this sub a while back, but since then people seem to have quietly moved most of their business (both vendor and customer-side) to Abraxas.
Is anyone in a position to know willing to disclose whether their OPSEC is still in dire straits? And if so, why the heck they're gaining popularity instead of bleeding it?
1 - No they didn't, no proof was ever offered, and it was probably one of the other markets (I'm thinking Evolution, giving the timing prior to the massive scam) spreading FUD to drive away business.
2 - Even if it was hypothetically leaked, they've likely learned from Agora to move servers periodically, rendering the whole "IP leak" moot to begin with. The site occasionally has a "down for maintenance" notice, which may be related.
Would the site really be up 8 months later? SR1 was dead less than 90 days after it was found.
Why is it popular? Because the other two larger markets are shady as hell.
And yes, because they copied Agora's style. Don't fix what isn't broken, right?