Atlantis, The Flashy Silk Road Alternative, Shuts Down

Atlantis was supposed to be a “better” alternative to the popular, but hidden, Silk Road market. In short, it allowed the average user to buy and sell drugs, contraband, and whatever else using an encrypted web session and Bitcoin. Now it’s sunk.

The site launched in June to much fanfare, including write-ups from most major websites. Hidden behind the now partially compromised Tor network, the site promised quick, anonymous transactions using Bitcoin and Litecoin. Online users complained that the service was little more than a watered-down Silk Road and a honeypot for authorities to catch drug dealers.

Now the site has been shut down and will stop business entirely in one week, at which time all crypto currency in the system will be taken by the site admins and donated to a drug-related charity.

Dear all users,

We have some terrible news. Regrettably it has come time for Atlantis to close its doors. Due to security reasons outside of our control we have no choice but to cease operation of the Atlantis Marketmarketplace. Believe us when we say we wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t 100% necessary.

Due to the urgency we are allowing all users to withdrawal all their coins for one week before the site, and forum, are shut down permanently. Please remove all of your coins, these will not be recoverable after one week from now. Anything remaining in your accounts will be donated to a drug related charity of our choosing.

We wish to thank all of you for making Atlantis a great and memorable place to trade on. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Best wishes,
The Atlantis team

Given that the group had a Facebook page and a now-missing YouTube commercial, it’s little wonder that those with the wherewithal to crack their site gave it a bit more attention. They also offer discounts to Silk Road users and made a large PR push, further pushing their concept into the limelight.

We’ve reached out to the anonymous admins for comment.