✨ Exactly 11 years ago today, infamous dark market Silk Road held "The Great 4/20 Sale and Giveaway."
50,000 #Bitcoin worth $1.4 BILLION was stolen. Even crazier, the crook kept the money AND the drugs.
Buckle up 🧵
50,000 #Bitcoin worth $1.4 BILLION was stolen. Even crazier, the crook kept the money AND the drugs.
Buckle up 🧵
Famed as "The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable," Silk Road was responsible for bringing #Bitcoin into the mainstream.
You could buy and trade virtually anything on the website, and all trade was conducted in $BTC.
You could buy and trade virtually anything on the website, and all trade was conducted in $BTC.
Accessible only by TOR, Silk Road was a marketplace where reputation mattered, and almost no one had a better reputation than a dealer named Tony76.
He sold heroin, stimulants, and psychedelics, and for a while, his customers were very satisfied.
He sold heroin, stimulants, and psychedelics, and for a while, his customers were very satisfied.
When Silk Road announced its 420 Sale, Tony76, unsurprisingly signed up for the promotion.
He offered big discounts on his products and for the first time opened to buyers outside North America.
He offered big discounts on his products and for the first time opened to buyers outside North America.
But a few days before the 420 Sale, things got weird.
Tony76 claimed a rival seller had threatened to set up bogus accounts in order to defraud his business.
Tony would have no way of knowing which orders were real, and he would likely end up losing money.
Tony76 claimed a rival seller had threatened to set up bogus accounts in order to defraud his business.
Tony would have no way of knowing which orders were real, and he would likely end up losing money.
So, Tony76 asked his buyers to begin finalizing their trades early in advance of the 420 Sale. They did.
After all, if they didn't finalize the sale, it might mean missing out on a big bargain.
After all, if they didn't finalize the sale, it might mean missing out on a big bargain.
That 4/20, no one received any drugs from Tony76, and to date, he has not been found.
Estimates suggest he took in $250,000 in orders that were never delivered.
At a $5 #Bitcoin price, its one of the biggest stolen fortunes in the protocol's history
✨
Estimates suggest he took in $250,000 in orders that were never delivered.
At a $5 #Bitcoin price, its one of the biggest stolen fortunes in the protocol's history
✨
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