Dark Web Drug Search Engine Grams Shuts Down

If you have any interest at all in the dark underbelly of the web known as the Dark Web then you’ve probably read about Grams somewhere. A one-stop search engine for those who want to buy narcotics, weapons or any of a number of black market items. Grams changed the way criminals plied their trade.

This week we learned through various reports that Grams would be shutting down permanently.

So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish

Quoting the famous line from Douglas Adams’ book in a Reddit post, the owner and operator of Grams announced that they’re throwing in the towel. The site is giving a small grace period for people to get their business in order and remove any stray Bitcoin, which is more than most Dark Web sites do when they go belly up. Bitcoin that’s still unclaimed at the time of final shutdown will be donated to charity.

When asked why Grams was shutting down, the owner had this to say on Reddit:

“Competitors have taken a lot of my business from the tumbling and with the high fees per transaction lately it is hard to even break even. The money is not worth the stress of maintaining the site.”

The admin also confirmed that the shutdown was not related to law enforcement.

“No , I have had no problems with LE, it is mostly just time and stress that leading my decisions.”

Grams hasn’t been around for long, only running since 2014. Yet it’s had a major impact on the world of illegal drug trade and arms trade. For governments and law enforcement agencies it’s obviously been a major pain in the behind. While those who love freedom and anarchic politics have praised Grams as a revolutionary force in all senses of the word.

Yet, it’s not strange for pioneering sites and technologies to shut down. A more refined successor is doubtlessly in the wings. In fact, as the Grams admin indicated, this is already the case. We’ve seen it happen with Napster. The Grams void will be filled sooner rather than later.