Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Date of Award
12-2026
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Logan Ledford
Committee Members
Bradley Edwards, Dustin Osborne
Abstract
Prior research on darknet cryptomarkets has largely examined users who are already vendors, leaving questions about how they become vendors. Drawing on social learning theory to explain the transition, this study examines whether pre-vendor activities, like forum participation and network, predict the transition from forum user to vendor. Using linked forum and marketplace data from the Evolution cryptomarket (2014–2015), this study employs a series of logistic regression models to compare 682 users who later became vendors with 19,148 who did not. Users who posted more over shorter periods were more likely to transition. Beyond posting volume, posting in the vendor discussion, fraud discussion, and information subforums, along with starting topics or posting early in threads, predicted transition. Betweenness centrality also predicted transition beyond these behaviors (OR = 2.11). The findings are consistent with a social learning account of vendor emergence and suggest that future vendors are distinguishable before they begin selling.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Major-Setugah, Delali, "From Participation to Profit: Examining Vendor Development in Darknet Markets" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 4778. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/4778
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
