Anyone remember Operation Web Tryp?
Operation Web Tryp was a United States Drug Enforcement Administration operation that ended on July 21, 2004 with the arrests of 10 persons. Its purpose was to investigate web sites suspected of distribution of unscheduled, unregulated tryptamines and phenethylamines of questionable legality.
...One of these websites, pondman.nu, was allegedly taking in U.S. $20,000 per week and grossed $700,000 before being shut down. Another, racresearch.com, reportedly grossed $500,000 in 14 months...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Web_TrypAnd Liberty Reserve?
In May 2013, Liberty Reserve was shut down by United States federal prosecutors under the Patriot Act after an investigation by authorities across 17 countries. The United States charged founder Arthur Budovsky and six others with money laundering and operating an unlicensed financial transaction company. Liberty Reserve is alleged to have been used to launder more than $6 billion in criminal proceeds during its history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_ReserveIt's a cat and mouse game that continues. Encryption just adds a digital wrinkle to the game. Small fry have nothing to worry about, anon vendor whales by their nature cause bigger splashes. While the technology may function flawlessly every time, it's a human user that will fail at some point. (Anyone watch The Wire?)