To: ahhaha who wrote (585 ) 4/11/2013 7:26:18 PM From: Ahda Respond to of 626 bit by bit the story will unfold. Silk Road (marketplace) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is the latest accepted revision , accepted on 10 April 2013 . Jump to: navigation , search Silk Road page Commercial?Yes Type of siteOnline black market RegistrationRequired Available language (s)English Owner"Dread Pirate Roberts" LaunchedFebruary 2011 Revenue 1.2 million US dollars per month [1] Current statusActive
Silk Road is an online black market operated as a Tor hidden service , such that online anonymity is granted to users. The website launched in February 2011 with development having begun six months prior. [2] [3] Buyers can register on Silk Road for free, but sellers must purchase new accounts through auctions, a policy that was purportedly implemented to mitigate the possibility of malicious individuals distributing tainted goods. [4] [5] As of 2012 [update] , monthly sales were estimated to be slightly over 1.2 million US dollars (USD), which corresponded to approximately 92,000 USD per month in commissions for the Silk Road operators. [1] [ edit ] ProductsThe majority of products available for purchase on Silk Road qualify as contraband in most jurisdictions. [6] However, the site's operators prohibit the sale of goods and services whose use could harm others; specifically, stolen credit card numbers, counterfeit currency, firearms, personal information, assassinations, weapons of mass destruction, and child pornography are not permitted on the site.[ citation needed ] Most sellers on the site are based in the United Kingdom and the United States, and offer products such as heroin , [7] LSD , and cannabis . [2] [8] There is a range of legal goods and services for sale, such as art, apparel, books, jewelry, pornography , and writing services. [ edit ] TransactionsBuyers and sellers conduct all transactions with bitcoins (BTC), a crypto-currency that can provide strong anonymity . [9] Most of the BTC prices on Silk Road are pegged to the United States dollar and fluctuate in accordance to the current BTC/USD exchange rate.[ citation needed ] The Silk Road organization claims that, "over 99% of all transactions conducted within the escrow system are completed to the satisfaction of both buyer and seller, or a mutually agreed upon resolution is found." [10]