Silk Road

From February 2011 to October 2013, Silk Road operated as an illicit online marketplace until it was forcibly shut down by the FBI. This platform provided a means for the sale of illegal drugs, weapons, and other sensitive commodities and data, leveraging the anonymity provided by the Tor web browser. Boasting a user base of over 100,000 buyers during its peak, Silk Road often accepted payments in the form of bitcoin (BTC). The founder, Ross Ulbricht, received an uncompromising sentence of double life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 40 years. However, there were dissenting voices among human rights activists who criticized the severity of his punishment.