“‘We Must Work Together for the Good of All’: An Examination of Conflict Management on Two Popular Cryptomarkets”, 2019 (; backlinks):
For nearly 10 years, illicit markets have taken advantage of the anonymity and convenience afforded by the dark web. Despite its benefits, however, this anonymity has also resulted in difficulties establishing trust and managing conflict on cryptomarkets. A number of common features have been implemented to serve this function.
This study was conducted to contribute to the growing literature on conflict management in cryptomarkets through a thematic analysis of publicly available content from two popular cryptomarkets [Tochka & Wall Street]. Of particular interest is whether conflict management has changed following the closure of many popular cryptomarkets and how conflicts are managed differently in relation to unique types of transaction or delivery offered by the marketplaces under study.
Findings indicate that, rather than evolving to become different from those marketplaces that have been shut down, the two marketplaces under study have slowly changed to become more like them, based on suggestions from users.
Implications for law enforcement are discussed.