[Isamu]

Good point. To be fair they are reporting on the new dominance of this model in Russia, rather than claiming this is the first time anyone has seen this. “Driven by large platforms such as Kraken, Mega, and Blacksprut, Russian darknet markets control 93% of the global share, generating approximately $1.5 billion in revenue in 2023 alone. This dominance marks a new era for organized crime, with Russia’s digital drug economy vastly surpassing traditional Western darknet markets in scope and influence.”