What Was Empire Market, And Why Did It Disappear?
It filled the gap left by AlphaBay and Hansa, became the dark web's biggest English-language marketplace, and then simply stopped answering.
Empire Market was a dark web marketplace, launched in January 2018, that grew to roughly 1.3 million users and facilitated more than $430 million in illegal transactions before abruptly going offline in August 2020. Most evidence points to an exit scam by its operators, who allegedly made off with an estimated $30 million in bitcoin. In 2024, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted two men, Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton, for operating the marketplace.
For two and a half years, Empire Market was, by most accounts, the largest English-language dark web marketplace in operation.
Then in August 2020, in the middle of an ongoing wave of DDoS attacks, it went offline — and never came back.
TL;DR
Quick answer
Empire Market was a dark web marketplace operating from January 2018 to August 2020, growing to roughly 1.3 million users and $430 million in transactions before disappearing amid a DDoS attack campaign. Evidence points to an exit scam; two alleged operators were indicted by U.S. federal prosecutors in 2024.
The setup
Built in the rubble of two bigger takedowns
Empire Market launched in January 2018, just months after law enforcement's Operation Bayonet had simultaneously taken down AlphaBay and Hansa Market — the two largest dark web marketplaces at the time. That left a vacuum, and Empire Market filled it quickly, growing to become the dominant English-language marketplace of its era.
It sold a wide range of illegal goods — drugs, stolen financial data, counterfeit currency, and more — and processed millions of transactions using Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero. By mid-2020, it was widely regarded within the dark web community as one of the more trustworthy and stable large marketplaces, which made its sudden disappearance that August especially disruptive.
The disappearance, in three facts
- The site went offline in August 2020 amid a sustained DDoS attack campaign.
- Users lost access to funds held in the marketplace's escrow system.
- Evidence and later federal charges point toward a deliberate exit scam by the operators.
Story in brief
- July 2017
Operation Bayonet takes down AlphaBay and Hansa Market, the two largest dark web marketplaces at the time.
Created the vacuum Empire Market would later fill.
- January 2018
Empire Market launches.
Began its rise to become the dominant English-language dark web marketplace.
- August 2020
The site goes offline amid a DDoS attack campaign and never returns.
Left an estimated 1.3 million users unable to access funds in escrow.
- 2024
U.S. federal prosecutors indict Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton for operating the marketplace.
Provided the first official confirmation of who allegedly ran the site.
Nobody was sure, at first, whether it was a bust or a betrayal
The uncertainty lasted for weeks; there was no seizure notice, no press conference, no indication one way or the other — just silence.
When Empire Market went dark, the dark web community split almost immediately — some assumed law enforcement had finally caught up with it, others assumed the operators had simply stolen everyone's money and vanished.
It's a good illustration of how differently a marketplace's end can play out compared to Silk Road's very public, very announced takedown — sometimes there's no dramatic notice at all, just an absence.
What people get wrong
Myth
Empire Market was seized by law enforcement.
Reality
No law enforcement agency announced a seizure; the evidence and later indictment point toward an exit scam by the operators instead.
Myth
The DDoS attacks were carried out by police.
Reality
Extortion-based DDoS attacks against dark web marketplaces are typically the work of other criminal actors, sometimes rival operators, not law enforcement.
Myth
The people behind Empire Market got away with it entirely.
Reality
In 2024, U.S. federal prosecutors indicted two alleged operators, showing the case remained active years after the site's disappearance.
Why did so many people suspect an exit scam specifically?
If the site was under attack, why didn't more people believe it was simply taken down by that attack, rather than betrayed by its own operators?Because the pattern matched a well-established playbook: marketplace operators facing pressure — whether from DDoS extortion, mounting legal risk, or simple greed — have repeatedly used a moment of chaos as cover to disable withdrawals and disappear with escrowed funds. Empire Market's moderators initially denied it was an exit scam, but the total lack of any communication, refund process, or reappearance in the following weeks matched the pattern closely enough that most of the community stopped giving the operators the benefit of the doubt.
From launch to indictment
- January 2018
Empire Market launches following the takedown of AlphaBay and Hansa.
Positioned it to absorb displaced users from two much larger marketplaces.
- 2018–2020
The site grows to roughly 1.3 million users and processes over $430 million in transactions.
Became widely regarded as the dominant marketplace of its era.
- August 2020
A DDoS attack campaign coincides with the site going permanently offline.
Left users unable to withdraw funds and triggered exit-scam suspicions.
- 2024
Federal prosecutors indict Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton.
Confirmed, years later, who allegedly operated the site and their prior ties to AlphaBay.
The alleged operators had a history together before Empire Market existed
According to the 2024 indictment, both Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton had previously been involved in selling counterfeit U.S. currency on AlphaBay, before AlphaBay's own 2017 takedown pushed them toward building their own marketplace.
It suggests Empire Market wasn't a spontaneous new venture so much as a continuation of an existing criminal partnership, relocated after their previous platform disappeared.
A marketplace built on trust ended by breaking it completely
Empire Market's reputation, in its final years, rested heavily on being seen as more stable and trustworthy than its rivals. Its ending — an alleged theft of user funds with no explanation — did more damage to the whole ecosystem's trust than almost any single law enforcement takedown, according to security researchers who studied the aftermath.
The scramble that followed
In the weeks after Empire Market's disappearance, competing marketplaces like Icarus Market saw significant spikes in new listings, as displaced vendors searched for a new platform to rebuild on.
It's a clear illustration of the churn pattern common across the dark web ecosystem: one large marketplace's collapse rarely ends demand, it just redistributes it.
So, why did it disappear?
Most evidence points to a deliberate exit scam by its operators, not a law enforcement takedown.
No seizure was ever announced, funds were never returned, and the operators were later indicted rather than named in any takedown press release.
Betrayal has been a bigger threat than the police in some years
Empire Market's story fits a broader pattern researchers have tracked across the dark web marketplace ecosystem: in several recent years, exit scams by marketplace operators have accounted for more user losses than law enforcement seizures. The biggest threat to a criminal marketplace's users, it turns out, is often the people running it.
The short version
- Empire Market operated from January 2018 to August 2020, becoming the dominant English-language dark web marketplace of its era.
- It disappeared amid a DDoS attack campaign, with no law enforcement seizure ever announced.
- Evidence points to an exit scam, with operators allegedly taking roughly $30 million in bitcoin.
- U.S. federal prosecutors indicted two alleged operators, Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton, in 2024.
Questions people ask
Where to go next
Does the dark web exist anymore?
How the ecosystem absorbed Empire Market's disappearance and kept going.
Has the FBI ever run a dark web marketplace undercover?
A very different way marketplaces have met their end.
Is Bitcoin actually anonymous?
How a 2024 indictment years later became possible in the first place.
Does the Silk Road still exist?
A marketplace that ended very differently — publicly, by law enforcement.
What happens to seized dark web cryptocurrency?
What normally happens when authorities do get involved, as they eventually did here.
The biggest markets don't always end with a raid
Sometimes the largest marketplace on the dark web doesn't get taken down. It just stops answering.
You now know
- Empire Market operated from January 2018 to August 2020 as the dominant English-language dark web marketplace of its era.
- It disappeared amid a DDoS attack campaign, with evidence pointing to an exit scam rather than a law enforcement seizure.
- U.S. federal prosecutors indicted two alleged operators, Thomas Pavey and Raheim Hamilton, in 2024.
Safety note
Educational, not operational
This guide is educational. It does not provide instructions for illegal activity, evading law enforcement, buying prohibited goods, or attacking systems. Laws and risks vary by country, so stay within your local rules and avoid interacting with unknown services.
Common myth
Myth vs reality
Empire Market was seized by law enforcement.
No law enforcement agency announced a seizure; the evidence and later indictment point toward an exit scam by the operators instead.
FAQs
Questions people ask
Sources
Further reading
- Owners of Infamous Empire Market Dark Web Marketplace ChargedBitdefender
- Two Charged With Operating $430 Million Darknet Market EmpireTRM Labs
Glossary
Terms in this guide
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