‘I think they will start breaking toes’: Evolution Marketplace goes down in massive Bitcoin heist

USERS of an online drug marketplace are calling for blood after the site’s owners made off with millions of dollars in Bitcoins.

FOOL me once, shame on you. Fool me, can’t get fooled again.

Another multi-million dollar Bitcoin heist could be the nail in the coffin for the troubled cryptocurrency.

Users of an online drug marketplace are calling for blood after two of its owners apparently made off with millions of dollars worth of Bitcoins.

The admins of Evolution Marketplace, a darknet site which was widely seen as the successor to the now defunct Silk Road, are facing threats of murder for stealing 130,000 bitcoins worth roughly $US34 million.

It’s what’s known as an ‘exit scam’ — literally shutting down a marketplace and making off with all the money — and it’s not the first time it’s happened.

The largest ever Bitcoin heist occurred in 2014, when users of the Mt Gox exchange lost around $US450 million worth of the cryptocurrency in what are still murky circumstances.

Posters on Reddit who have been documenting the heist allege that the admin duo, known as Kimble and Verto, are former credit card thieves. Others claim they saw the warning signs and pulled their money out early.

At least one person warned a scam was imminent before the site went down. “I have admin access to see parts of the back end, the admins are preparing to exit scam with all the funds,” wrote user NSWGreat.

“Not a single withdrawal has gone through in almost a week. Automatic withdrawals has been disabled which is only doing on rare occasions. I am so sorry, but Verto and Kimble have f****d us all. I have over $20,000 in escrow myself from sales.”

Evolution Marketplace, or Evo, sold more than 15,000 illegal products, from drugs to weapons to stolen information.

One user claims he owes money to real-life drug dealers who advanced him cash to start dealing on the site. “We are going to see a movie then I think they will start breaking toes,” wrote Nobu7. “I’m shaking.”

The value of Bitcoin has been plummeting since the news of the latest heist broke. At the time of writing, one Bitcoin was worth $A343.

Some users were unsympathetic, pointing to the inherent risk of trading in an unregulated currency. “The worst part is that no one could have seen this coming,” wrote crmi.

Another added: “You mean you can’t trust anonymous internet criminals with large piles of money? What has this world come to!”

Some have pointed out that the libertarian dream of a totally unregulated monetary system may have its drawbacks. “This is like step 125 on the journey of [Bitcoin users] discovering piece by piece exactly why financial regulations exist,” another said.

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