Nemesis

Incognito

Bitcoin

Monero

US authorities have sanctioned the operator of a shuttered online darknet marketplace, including his crypto addresses, which recently profited from Bitcoin price fluctuations.&nbsp;
Iran-based Behrouz Parsarad established the darknet marketplace Nemesis in 2021 and used it to facilitate the sale of drugs, false identification documents, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/crimeware-as-a-service-a-new-threat-to-crypto-users" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">professional hacking resources</a>, and a variety of other illicit services for cybercriminals, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0040" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> in a March 4 statement.&nbsp;
Under the sanctions, US citizens are now blocked from dealing with Parsarad and any companies where he owns more than a 50% stake.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="US sanctions crypto addresses linked to Nemesis darknet marketplace" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/019568f7-db99-7ff6-ab7f-e4083e6f3073" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 A US, German-Lithuanian law enforcement operation shut down Nemesis in 2024. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-designation-iran-darknet-markets-bitcoin-fentanyl-march-2025/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Chainalysis</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-designation-iran-darknet-markets-bitcoin-fentanyl-march-2025/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">said</a> the sanctioned property includes 44 Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a>) addresses and five Monero (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/xmr-price-index" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">XMR</a>) addresses, which, between July 2022 and March 2024, received more than $850,000.&nbsp;
The total amount of cryptocurrency sent by Parsarad exceeds $1.6 million, which Chainalysis attributed to price appreciation.
Most of Parsarad’s transaction volume is with Nemesis, but he also sent over $12,000 to several other darknet marketplaces, such as ASAP Market, Incognito Market and Next Generation, and had “indirect exposure to mixers,” according to the blockchain analytics firm.&nbsp;
<figure>
 <img alt="Cryptocurrencies, Darknet, Cybercrime, Dark Markets" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-03/01956a2e-b069-7446-8ea5-2fb26a53375e" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Parsarad interacted onchain with multiple other darknet marketplaces. Source: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/ofac-designation-iran-darknet-markets-bitcoin-fentanyl-march-2025/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Chainalysis</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
OFAC says that before a US German-Lithuanian law enforcement operation confiscated its servers in March 2024, the marketplace had 30,000 active users and 1,000 vendors and was designed with <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/criminals-cash-over-crypto-money-laundering" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">built-in money laundering features</a>.&nbsp;
“In addition to providing criminals with a platform to conduct transactions, Parsarad laundered virtual currencies for narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals active on Nemesis,” OFAC said.&nbsp;
The government agency estimates Parsarad pocketed “millions of dollars over the course of the marketplace’s existence.”&nbsp;
Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said Parsarad also “continues to try to re-establish” the operation.&nbsp;
<h2 id="strong-darknet-marketplaces-still-booming-despite-enforcement-actions-strong">Darknet marketplaces still booming despite enforcement actions&nbsp;</h2>
Darknet marketplaces generated over $1.7 billion in revenue in 2024, only a <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/darknet-market-crypto-crimes-rise-chainalysis" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">slight increase from the previous</a> year, <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.trmlabs.com/2025-crypto-crime-report" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">according</a> to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs 2025 Crypto Crime Report.
TRM Labs said Russian-language darknet markets continued to dominate the ecosystem, mainly due to Russian authorities’ “low risk of enforcement action.”&nbsp;
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hydra-market-founder-sentenced-to-life-in-russia" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Russia sentences Hydra market founder to life in prison</a>
At the same time, Western darknet marketplaces struggled under increased enforcement and operational instability. In a March 4 blog post, TRM Labs <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://www.trmlabs.com/post/us-treasury-sanctions-iranian-national-for-operating-darknet-market-nemesis" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://www.trmlabs.com/post/us-treasury-sanctions-iranian-national-for-operating-darknet-market-nemesis">said</a> that in early 2024, several <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-to-protect-against-crypto-exit-scams" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">major exit scams</a> occurred in the Western darknet market scene.&nbsp;
“Bohemia Market and Cannabia Market disappeared in January under suspicious circumstances, later revealed by Dutch authorities to be part of an ongoing investigation,” TRM Labs said.&nbsp;
In March, Incognito Market <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-monero-reportedly-stolen-darknet-market-exit-scam" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">collapsed following a possible exit scam</a>. TRM Labs says its administrator, known as “Pharoah,” attempted to extort users before shutting down the marketplace.&nbsp;
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/off-the-grid-update-rumble-kong-league-game-review-web3-gamer/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Off The Grid’s ‘biggest update yet,’ Rumble Kong League review: Web3 Gamer</a>

US sanctions crypto addresses linked to Nemesis darknet marketplace

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