The alleged administrator of Bitcoin Fog kept the dark web service running for 10 years prior to the IRS swept up with him.For a decade, Bitcoin Fog has offered to obscure the foundation and destination of its customers'cryptocurrency, which makes it one of the most venerable institutions in the dark web economy.
Now the IRS says it's finally identified the Russian-Swedish administrator behind that long-running anonymizing system and charged him with laundering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoins, much of that was provided for or from dark web drug markets. What gave him away?
The trail of his own decade-old digital transactions.

Feds Dismantled the Dark Web Drug Trade—but It's Already Rebuilding

After recent high-profile dark-web drug market takedowns, new vendors happen to be filling the void.On the dark-web drug market WorldMarket this week, business proceeds as usual. "Satisfied customer, is going to be back," writes one user on the merchandise page of a meth dealer with the handle shardyshardface.

"Excellent," reads a plaudit posted with a buyer of the opiate oxycodone. "Bravo," says another for a $5 sample of fentanyl, certainly one of 18 reviews posted on the product's profile page within the last few week. In all, Empire lists over 18,000 narcotic offerings, including hundreds for oxycodone alone.