[2019-12-13] Russia’s Largest Darknet Market Is Hawking an ICO to Fund Expansion

[bbc.reporter]

This might be the best representation of how the cryptospace should be in financial freedom, in seeking funding democratically and in removing the middleman.

However, this might also be an exit scam hehehe.



Hydra, reportedly the largest darknet marketplace serving Russia and neighboring countries, claims it is seeking to raise $146 million through a token sale to fund a worldwide expansion. The sale is scheduled to launch Dec. 16, according to an investment memorandum on the site, which is hard to access without a special anonymized browser.

The tokens, priced at $100 each, will be available to purchase on the platform for bitcoin. A “package” of 100 tokens will provide a buyer with a 0.00333333 percent share of Hydra’s profit, the memorandum says. It makes no mention of which blockchain (if any) the tokens would run on.

Given the illicit nature of its business, Hydra’s token offering may be the most brazen ever, even compared to the ICOs that pushed the envelope of U.S. registration requirements in 2017. Russian news outlet Forklog warned that the sale could be an exit scam, a common occurrence in darknet markets.

Read in full https://www.coindesk.com/russias-largest-darknet-market-is-hawking-an-ico-to-fund-global-expansion

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[Getmon]

Since this is an ICO launched by the largest Darknet market in Russia, does it mean that certain legal requirements will be bypassed? Or if their ICO plan will proceed, will the project go through any legal processes in launching a public coin offering? If they will pass through all the necessary legal steps, I doubt if they will still be the darknet that everybody assumes. The government will definitely open what is designed to be hidden in the dark. If they will bypass every single legal policy then I don't think they will be able to proceed with an ICO that is open to the surface market.

[Carlton Banks]

Since this is an ICO launched by the largest Darknet market in Russia, does it mean that certain legal requirements will be bypassed? Or if their ICO plan will proceed, will the project go through any legal processes in launching a public coin offering? If they will pass through all the necessary legal steps, I doubt if they will still be the darknet that everybody assumes.

I was about to ask "are you stupid?", but in a weird kind of way, you might even have a point.

It's not exactly unheard of for highly forbidden businesses to build up a customer base, then go legal, but it is unheard of in the illegal substance market. However, we're living through strange times, and while I don't quite believe Russia is likely to be the place where such a thing is pioneered, at the same time, we should be half expecting such bizarre things to happen given the current zeitgeist.

In this case, it sounds pretty scammy though. This supposedly dominant .onion marketplace cannot make sufficient profits to fund a few extra servers? Sounds suspicious, whatever way you look at it.

[gentlemand]

Russia. Drugs. ICO.

That's about as unappetising a triumvirate as I could possibly imagine.

An interesting concept indeed and they've certainly been around for a long time but it would take you nearly two years to earn back what your tokens cost and no mention of whether they're tradeable.

That would be a shit deal even if they were selling toilet paper and half price Iphones and had an outlet on every street corner.

[hatshepsut93]

What's in it for the end users? Are they supposed to be buying drugs with these shittokens? Why not just buy them directly with crypto? I always viewed these platform tokens as just a fairy tale for the investors that will never be implemented on practice, since a lot of people would rather for an alternative service than bother with exchanging coins for tokens, installing wallets, etc.

[gentlemand]

What's in it for the end users? Are they supposed to be buying drugs with these shittokens? Why not just buy them directly with crypto?

Looks like it's nothing but profit share. So you'd need to trust them to stay open for long enough to earn a return on what you paid out which is a couple of years and for them to continue to pay you out.

I can't see any mention of the tokens themselves having any actual value after buying them.

[buwaytress]

What's in it for the end users? Are they supposed to be buying drugs with these shittokens? Why not just buy them directly with crypto? I always viewed these platform tokens as just a fairy tale for the investors that will never be implemented on practice, since a lot of people would rather for an alternative service than bother with exchanging coins for tokens, installing wallets, etc.

What's ever in it in an ICO for end users? The way I see it -- admittedly from a conservative point of view --- successful businesses behind ICOs didn't raise much, and vapourware projects could raise everything they wanted and more. The investors, as it turned out, were speculators rather than end users.

I know at least two products I use, that also ran ICOs. I joined one, not the other. In the one I did, it's a product I use faithfully almost every other day. But the ones most vocal in the channel are the speculators who bought and are disappointed the market didn't play out. That's likely also intensified because they're not actually end users. So in their eyes, they're gaining nothing.

Suspect Hydra users will, for the most, not be ICO participants but hey I have no clue about Russian darkmarkets and how the people there are.

[bbc.reporter]

What's in it for the end users? Are they supposed to be buying drugs with these shittokens? Why not just buy them directly with crypto?

Looks like it's nothing but profit share. So you'd need to trust them to stay open for long enough to earn a return on what you paid out which is a couple of years and for them to continue to pay you out.

I can't see any mention of the tokens themselves having any actual value after buying them.

I reckon profit share is better than most of the useless scam utility tokens on the markets today, assuming this is not an exit scam.

Also, I speculate that it will be issued in a platform where it would be listed easily in its built in exchange like Waves.

[Febo]

This ICO would get founded in 2017 in an hour. There was so much stupid money back then lurking around this part of town.

[DarkPayCoin_1]

This might be the best representation of how the cryptospace should be in financial freedom, in seeking funding democratically and in removing the middleman.

However, this might also be an exit scam hehehe.

https://steemitimages.com/DQmaKUxBsm5n39EZZqpPkMD8AQALE6UuuRsFjvkwtLiSqhy/Untitled.png

Hydra, reportedly the largest darknet marketplace serving Russia and neighboring countries, claims it is seeking to raise $146 million through a token sale to fund a worldwide expansion. The sale is scheduled to launch Dec. 16, according to an investment memorandum on the site, which is hard to access without a special anonymized browser.

The tokens, priced at $100 each, will be available to purchase on the platform for bitcoin. A “package” of 100 tokens will provide a buyer with a 0.00333333 percent share of Hydra’s profit, the memorandum says. It makes no mention of which blockchain (if any) the tokens would run on.

Given the illicit nature of its business, Hydra’s token offering may be the most brazen ever, even compared to the ICOs that pushed the envelope of U.S. registration requirements in 2017. Russian news outlet Forklog warned that the sale could be an exit scam, a common occurrence in darknet markets.

Read in full https://www.coindesk.com/russias-largest-darknet-market-is-hawking-an-ico-to-fund-global-expansion

No need to participate in an ICO....Trustless/censorship-free/private/decentralized marketplaces are coming very soon to https://coin.darkpay.market/
Feel free to have a chat with the community and make your own opinion : https://discord.gg/fgVnW2w

[pakhitheboss]

When an illegal business needs money they will arrange it illegally

If they are trying to gather the money legally still it is considered illegal.

It is an Exit Scam and it is better to stay away from it.

[DarkPayCoin_1]

When an illegal business needs money they will arrange it illegally

If they are trying to gather the money legally still it is considered illegal.

It is an Exit Scam and it is better to stay away from it.

They're certainly trying to make a money grab before going off the radar indeed.