Blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, ZCash, among others.
In the case for Bitcoin in particular, the transactions are anonymous, but yet transparent and monitored on the public Blockchain record.
Transparency is in the sense that if someone wishes to check the latest transactions on the network, then they can do so easily.
What's more is that one can also know the status of their operation by copying the receiving address and posting it on the site.
A lot of users in the community agree that if it were not for the dark web, then Bitcoin would be nothing -Noting the fact this form of digital payment is the first of its kind and that it has been adopted as the primary mode of payment by almost all the darknet markets that have existed before and the ones that are currently in existence.
The use of the Bitcoin on the dark web is so rampant that even the United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions publically acknowledged the popularity of Bitcoin on the dark web is indisputable, especially after last summer's seizure of two major darknet markets, AlphaBay and Hansa.
The seizure of the two Tor-based sites, due to collaborative efforts from multiple government agencies in the U.S., Europe and Asia, led to the confiscation of digital funds belonging to thousands of users.
It is not yet clear how much Bitcoin was seized from both marketplaces, but estimates have it that the amount ran into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now, more and more people continue to acquire Bitcoins from all over the world, which has in turn seen the price of the commodity skyrocket by over 800 percent in the year 2017.
Of course, some of the users who pay attention to this are dark web users who utilize Bitcoin it to buy goods from the markets on the Tor network.
Other parties who are interested in Bitcoin are investors, Bitcoin sellers and miners who play a significant role in processing the transactions.
The high demand for Bitcoin, which has led to increased transactions on the Blockchain, has indeed caused the Bitcoin network to experience delays from time to time.
Sending Bitcoin is at times instant, especially if the funds are sent internally; whereas, if they are sending from one block to the other, then more time is required. The standard time expected for at least three confirmations can take between 30 minutes to an hour.
But when delays occur, the receiving address can wait days for the transactions to be processed by miners. And as a result, the miners end up taking a more substantial fee for processing the transaction.
Of late, dark web users in various markets have complained of delays caused by technical issues in receiving funds to their accounts.
Among the markets affected by these delays is Silk Road 3.1. Upon logging in to the market, there is a notice for all the market members to read irrespective of whether one is a buyer or a seller.
In the apparent news release from the site, which is dated December 17, it noted that due to the congestion of the Bitcoin network, excessive delays are the norm of the day.
And as such, if the problem is not solved then the market will add other forms of payment such as Ethereum or Litecoin, which tend not to experience such delays.
The decision by marketplaces to opt to use other digital currencies is likely to shake up the rate at which persons use Bitcoin, thus affecting the demand and supply.
But one thing is for sure, adding other currencies that prove more convenient will create a lesser need for Bitcoin and increase demand for the other cryptocurrencies.
If the other markets follow suit then at some point in the future, users of the dark web are likely to ditch Bitcoin and migrate to the most convenient option.
Though far-fetched, the idea is very much possible to happen, and if it does, then the price of the "chosen" cryptocurrency may rival that of Bitcoin.
Apart from the option of switching to other currencies, another major inconvenience faced by buyers is delays in depositing funds which are meant for buying products from a specific dark web market.
Oftentimes, buyers have to wait days for the money to get deposited to the market, which only happens after three confirmations.
The trend is widespread, and users in various forums such as Reddit have come out to complain and see if others are also experiencing the same thing. Others even go to the extent of contacting the market admins to see if there is a technical issue on their side.
But upon contacting admins of a site about depositing funds, the answer from them usually is pretty simple and straight, and that is to check the status of the transaction on Blockchain Explorer.
These complaints have become even more commonplace over the last few months, and maybe this is the reason why Dream Market has opted to integrate Bitcoin Cash.
Before the fall of AlphaBay and Hansa, darknet market users had multiple markets to choose from, which meant they had options in the event one form of cryptocurrency experienced delays.
Apart from Bitcoin, other currencies that were in use on AlphaBay were Ethereum, Monero, and ZCash. During the inclusion of ZCash on AlphaBay, the digital currency experienced an increase in demand which led to a hike in the price.
Disclaimer:
You need to enable JavaScript to vote
