Virtual black market Atlantis walks the plank, Dread Pirate Roberts humbledselfnews Post The virtual black market allowing users tobuy and sell illegal drugs over the internethas exploded in recent years mainly due to the quasi-anonymity of the digital currency Bitcoin and because these services are hidden from authorities on Tors Onion network. To date the government hasnt been able to stop them because of the layers of encryption at these platforms. The success of Silk Road led to competition in this arena including the Atlantis Market who brazenly marketed their illegal drug business to the public. But this week Atlantis abruptly announced that it is shutting its doors citing security reasons out of their control: No further details were given as to why they closed. However, knowing that the Tor network was successfully attacked by the FBI and the NSA working in conjunction to combat child porn may have led to the preemptive closing. Just as weve seen private email providers preemptively close up shop instead of comply with government snooping, it seems Atlantis may have feared the risk of being compromised. It didnt take long for the Anarcho-libertarian Dread Pirate Roberts to issue his response to Atlantis closing: Silk Roads Charter: We promise to be true to our purpose, to accomplish our mission, to operate consistent with our values, and to run our enterprise in service of our customers. RELATED ARTICLE: 