Cypher Market
Cypher Market holds the title of the world's oldest darknet market (outside of Russia) having reached 4 years of age in February 2024. This is practically unheard of by modern standards. In that time major competitors such as White House Market, ASAP Market and World Market have all come and gone. Could Cypher ultimately take Dream Market's crown of being the longest continually serving darknet market by surviving for 6 years or more? And more importantly, is this a market that delivers a modern and high quality experience for users?
Cypher Market Link
You will require the Tor Browser in order to access Cypher Market. This is completely free and available for Windows, MacOS, Linux (all distros), iOS and Android.
Key Facts about Cypher Market
| Founded | February 2020 |
|---|---|
| Cryptocurrencies accepted | Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR) |
| Product Categories | Drugs (Benzos, Cannabis, Psychedelics, Ecstasy, Stimulants, Opiates), Guides & Tutorials, Other Listings, Counterfeits, Hosting & Security, Software & Malware |
| Notable Features | 14-day Escrow, Walletless Checkout, Advanced anti-phishing and anti-bot protection, PGP 2 Factor Authentication (optional for buyers, mandatory for vendors) |
Getting Started on Cypher
Cypher Market offers one of the most simplistic sign up processes any user can ask for. No nonsense, just a username and password needed. You'll be given a mnemonic code of course, so note this down somewhere safe as it's the only way to recover your account should you forget your password. Nothing else needed at this stage. Well, providing you can solve a 6 digit captcha. If you've managed to install the Tor Browser successfully, you should be able to manage such a task with ease, right?
Logging in is as simple as signing up. Just enter your username, password and the captcha, then you're in!
First Impressions of Cypher
Cypher Market has undergone a significant transformation over the years. When it first opened it was rather basic and looked very generic, but the team has done a great job overhauling it and making it look fresh and modern. It's entirely dark theme for those who prefer that, following in the footsteps of markets such as Archetyp and Incognito Market. Yes, Cypher Market is actually older than both of those, but it didn't have the dark theme for its first few years, so it's fair to say it took inspiration from elsewhere.
Interface wise, it's very easy to find what is what. Product searching is easy and everything else can be found within your settings. You won't find a wallet page though, since the market is walletless and you simply pay for your orders at the checkout. You should add a refund address though, since any failed orders or won disputes will see payment sent straight back to a wallet you own rather than the funds sitting on a market wallet.
Product pages are big and bold and you can easily find all the key information you want about the product and the shipping options. Many products also have multiple price options from within one single listing, so no need to contend with search results full of duplicates with different quantities. Always the sign of a quality market in my view!
Given how long Cypher Market has been trading for, it's been able to gain a large number of vendors from all around the world. The majority are located in Europe and North America, but there are vendors elsewhere too in locations such as Australia and India, so wherever you are, there's a good chance you'll find a vendor offering something for you. Of course, there are many digital goods too. Despite the Russian sounding name however, Cypher doesn't cater to the Russian market and is only available in English.
What I Liked
Cypher has gained a trusted reputation, many reputable vendors, many reviews (over a long time span) and an easy to use, modern interface.
For most vendors there is a 14-day escrow period in effect, meaning you've got plenty of protection in case there's an issue. Should you need to raise a dispute, a Cypher moderator will mediate this. You can see how many disputes any given vendor has had within the last 12 months, so you know which ones to trust and which to potentially avoid. A small number of the most trusted and well established vendors (i.e. those with many thousands of verified sales) have Finalize Early (FE) privileges. If you don't feel comfortable using FE, just select a vendor that offers escrow.
Areas for Improvement
The Cypher team are veterans of the dark web at this point, and their experience has clearly been put to good use on the marketplace. There's very little to criticize therefore, as the buying process and straightforward from beginning to end. The market lacks some of the features that some other markets have, such as a crypto exchange (see Incognito Market), but this certainly isn't an essential. For 99% of users, Cypher delivers everything a buyer (or vendor) could ask for.
Dark Web Journalist
Final thoughts on Cypher Market
As stated above, there's very little to dislike about Cypher, but much to appreciate. Ultimately what this darknt market has going for it the most is its strong and established reputation, that is unrivalled at this point. Over 4 years of trading and thousands of happy customers, plus many hundreds of high quality vendors peddling many different wares from many different locations. Despite its age, it's still not the largest market on the dark web, but certainly in the top 10. Maybe it'll finally reach number 1 one day? Until then, the Cypher team seem intent to keep on going for as long as they can, and good luck to them I say!