Black Pyramid Market Review
Black Pyramid has been on the scene for a while now and whilst not yet one of the largest markets, it is still able to boast a selection of more than 4,000 listings from an array of well established vendors. Both physical and digital products are offered, with drugs and fraud being the most heavily populated categories.
Disclaimer: By using Black Pyramid for any form of transaction, you may be committing an illegal act in your country. The information provided here is for educational and research purposes and is not intended to promote any illegal activity. Any actions you choose to take are 100% your own responsibility.
Black Pyramid key information:
This market is considered to be dead and the information here is for historic reference purposes.
- Black Pyramid Market Link (Primary onion URL):
OFFLINE
- Online since: March 2022
- Cryptos accepted: Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dash (DASH)
- Multisig support? Yes (BTC only)
- Walletless? Yes (optional)
- Vendor bond: $125+ (depending on tier)
- Key features: PGP 2-FA, Escrow, Tele-vend, Loyalty programme, Live chat
- Categories: Drugs, Services, Counterfeits, Fraud, Digital
Registration / login process:
Creating an account is very simple. Simply choose a username, password, PIN (4 to 6 digits) and enter a referral code if you have one. Upon completing the sign up process, a mnemonic code is provided in case you need to recover from account in future due to a forgotten password. Once this is created, you can then proceed to login.
Black Pyramid has a rather unique and innovative captcha that you'll be presented with after logging in. It may seem daunting as first, but it's actually pretty simple. Just pick the missing image from the selection of 20 shown. Note that the images may be rotated or be in different colors, but they are all pretty distinctive. You are allowed 50 seconds to do this which should be sufficient, but don't worry if you get it wrong. Just try again and you'll soon get the hang of it. Only a single click is required.
After logging in you'll reach the home page which will initially present a pop-up news box updating you on the latest market developments. To close this, simply click anywhere outside of the box. The main landing page contains a range of featured products and vendors, as well as laying out all the key settings and search functions you need to start searching for products. It's a rather unique Egyptian inspired design that's unlike anything we've seen before, and if effectively darkmode by default which will please those with sensitive eyes.
Black Pyramid Rules:
The rules are very much in line with your average darknet market. Weapons, prostitution, CP and murder services are not permitted. Dealing outside of the market via Telegram, Wickr etc. is strictly forbidden to reduce the risk of scams. And unlike other markets, the Black Pyramid developers came up with multiple and unique security features to prevent anyone from being externally redirected, phished or scammed. This is the cornerstone of their user-protection system.
Vendor Bond options:
This deserves its own sub-section for being rather unique when compared to most markets. Rather than simply having a single vendor bond amount for all vendors, Black Pyramid offers a range of options. Vendors with over 200 verifiable sales can request a full bond waiver (a higher level than many markets require), or a vendor which doesn't meet this threshold can choose from one of a range of packages:
Bronze: $300 for up to 10 listings and 0% market fees for up to $5000 sales (4.5% fees after)
Silver: $450 for up to 30 listings and 0% market fees for up to $13,000 sales (4% fees after)
Gold: $650 for unlimited listings and 0% market fees for up to $30,000 sales (4% fees after)
Regular Bond + Full fees: $125 for unlimited listings and 4.5% market fees
Pay-later bond: $350 + market fees will be automatically deducted from first sales
Tele-Vend Bond: A unique feature which aims to provide the same scenario as dealing through Telegram, but instead of using TG-app, vendors choosing this bond can simply send their own crypto address to their customers directly through Black Pyramid's live-chat.
The pay-later bond offers a rather unique opportunity for a start-up vendor with low capital to start trading, whilst minimising the risk of buyers being scammed since the market will have control over early revenue. A very unique approach which we've not seen elsewhere. There really is a package to suit all budgets.
Searching for products:
You can either search for a product by selecting a category, or narrow it down far more by using the search options menu, found in the header. This allows you to filter by price range, accepted cryptos, product type etc. This makes it relatively easy to find what you're looking for without going through too many different menus. If you know the name of a specific vendor you're looking for, you can search by that too.
Results are displayed in list format which contains key information such as brief product description, vendor name, shipping location, price (in local currency) and level of stock. You can also see the number of sales to date, with review scores (1 to 5 stars) being shown where a product has a rating.
Product information:
Information about an individual product and the vendor selling it are all very easily visible within each product listing page. You'll find a detailed description of the product, plus details about shipping, price etc. The refund policy is clearly displayed, alongside any reviews that product has. Reviews are displayed with the most recent at the top, so it's easy to see trends before making a purchasing decision. You can also bookmark a listing so you can easily find it again later.
As well as details about an individual product, you can also view more information about a specific vendor by clicking on their name (near the top right of the listing). Here you can view feedback from across their entire product range. A range of sales stats are available here, and you can also bookmark a vendor in the same way as a product listing. Each vendor has star ratings which factor in reactivity, quality and stealth, on top of statistics and sales graphics reflected on their profile.
Making a purchase:
Decided what you want to purchase? Black Pyramid offers the option of either depositing to a market wallet first, or going straight to the checkout and making payment once you have placed an order. Bitcoin, Monero, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Dash are all supported. Black Pyramid really stands out by offering some of the widest range of cryptos of any market, although individual vendors can choose which cryptos they wish to support. Most support Bitcoin and Monero as a minimum. Monero is fast and is generally considered the most secure so we always recommend this. It's worth noting that bitcoin multisig is supported also, although only by vendors who opt to use it. There are no fees for buyers, so nothing will be deducted from your withdrawal. All fees are paid on the vendor's side.
If you prefer to deposit to a market wallet, do this before proceeding to the checkout. If you're option for walletless pay (recommended since it avoids issues with crypto fluctuation) just go direct to the checkout and select the 'payment on checkout' option. It's very simple.
Before making a cryptocurrency deposit, be sure you're not on a phishing site (check your onion link against those listed on Torhoo or another reputable source such as Dread). Black Pyramid's system displays performant anti-phishing protections. Never forget to compare the crypto-picture to the generated crypto-address.
When entering in your shipping details, we strongly recommend PGP encrypting yourself for maximum security. If you're not yet familar with PGP encryption, we have a detailed guide on how to use PGP. Black Pyramid also provides a range of 50+ guides to which includes the use of PGP on Windows and Tails, so in this respect it is very noob friendly. The vendor's PGP key is made available on the checkout screen for maximum convenience, so there's no excuse not to.
Once confirmed and submitted, the order will show in your 'orders' menu. When the vendor accepts, ships or cancels the order, it will be displayed here. A notification pop-up will be shown in the bottom right of the screen whenever there is an update on your order status, making it easy to keep track. Once your order has arrived, you can then mark it as received and leave feedback for the buyer. In the event of an issue, you can raise a dispute which will be reviewed by market staff, who may then decide to issue a full or partial refund. It is always advised to contact the vendor in the first instance to try and resolve any issues before resorting to using the dispute process however.
Conclusions on Black Pyramid:
Positives:
Feature-rich marketplace that doesn't use any off the shelf scripts for added security
Support for 5 cryptocurrencies, including Monero
Robust and innovative ddos / phishing protection
A range of different bond / fee options for vendors
No fees for buyers
Negatives:
Products from inactive vendors show up in search results by default [EDIT: Vendors which have logged in recently now have their results displayed at the top which largely overcomes this issue]
At times there can be several captchas to go through before reaching the landing page
Overall, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives when it comes to Black Pyramid, and in terms of the features it offers, it is well ahead of many other markets. If for example you have some Dash you are looking to spend, this is one of the only markets to support it at present. The market has existed for long enough to demonstrate some level of trustworthiness, and there's some well established vendors on board to boot. It's very different from the usual AlphaBay / Eckmar clones (which is not necessarily a bad thing in our view), but take a little time to familiarize yourself with the interface and you'll find a market that provides a rewarding shopping experience.
