Silk Road 2.0
| Launched | November 2013 |
|---|---|
| Closed | November 2014 |
| Founder(s) | Blake Benthall ("Dread Pirate Roberts 2") |
| Network | Tor hidden service (.onion) |
| Currency | Bitcoin |
| Est. revenue | About 8 million dollars |
| Peak size | About 100,000 users (est.) |
Silk Road 2.0 launched in November 2013, only weeks after the FBI seized the original Silk Road. It claimed to continue the original project with the same administrators and quickly absorbed many displaced vendors and buyers.
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History
The relaunch traded on the Silk Road brand and its surviving reputation system. Operated by Blake Benthall, who used the handle "Dread Pirate Roberts 2," the market recreated the original's escrow, categories and forums. It operated for roughly a year but never approached the original's scale.
Operation
Because the original's infrastructure and credentials had been seized, the new market had to be rebuilt from scratch under intense scrutiny. Its short life demonstrates how hard it is to replicate a trusted brand once law enforcement has the playbook.
Downfall
In November 2014 the FBI and Europol announced Operation Onymous, a coordinated takedown of dozens of darknet sites. Silk Road 2.0 was among them. Its servers were seized and Benthall arrested; he later pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators.
Legacy
Operation Onymous showed that the "clone the winner" strategy had a shelf life. More importantly, it demonstrated the value of coordinated multi-country operations — a model used again for AlphaBay, Hansa and later markets.