Trust, infrastructure and sociopolitics in online drug markets: an exploratory socio-technical analysis of cryptomarket uptake in Europe and Latin America

Tzanetakis, M, Boos, T, Buxton, J ORCID: 0000-0002-1423-8074, Dewey, M and South, N (2026) Trust, infrastructure and sociopolitics in online drug markets: an exploratory socio-technical analysis of cryptomarket uptake in Europe and Latin America. Trends in Organized Crime. ISSN 1084-4791

Preview

Text Trust in Online Drug Markets.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (890kB) | Preview

Abstract

Online drug markets using encryption technologies have expanded primarily in consumer regions of the Global North. This article uses an exploratory approach to examine why cryptomarkets have flourished in Europe while remaining marginal in the traditional drug-producing region of Latin America. It argues that cryptomarkets operate as socio-technical infrastructures dependent on historically embedded forms of trust, sociopolitics, and drug-use cultures. This paper proposes an analytical framework structured around four interrelated socio-technical dimensions exploring regional differences in cryptomarket uptake: (a) social practices and cultures of trust, (b) socio-political embeddedness of drug markets, (c) trust in technological and postal infrastructures, (d) and trust in financial systems and digital payment mechanisms. We suggest that in Europe, cryptomarkets form sophisticated ecosystems supporting recreational users, while Latin American contexts remain constrained by structural inequalities and infrastructural limitations. By situating cryptomarkets within broader institutional and sociopolitical contexts, the paper offers an exploratory conceptual contribution to the socio-technical transformation of illicit drug trade and outlines a research agenda for future empirical study of digitally mediated illicit goods.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	1602 Criminology; 4402 Criminology
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions:	Law and Justice Studies
Publisher:	Springer
Date of acceptance:	21 June 2026
Date of first compliant Open Access:	26 June 2026
Date Deposited:	26 Jun 2026 15:26
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2026 15:26
DOI or ID number:	10.1007/s12117-026-09604-9
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28907

View Item