A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a market characterized by some form of noncompliant behavior with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services whose production and distribution is prohibited by law, non-compliance with the rule constitutes a black market trade since the transaction itself is illegal. Parties engaging in the production or distribution of prohibited goods and services are members of the illegal economy. Examples include the drug trade, prostitution, illegal currency transactions and human trafficking. Violations of the tax code involving income tax evasion constitutes membership in the unreported economy. Because tax evasion or participation in a black market activity is illegal, participants will attempt to hide their behavior from the government or regulatory authority. Cash usage is the preferred medium of exchange in illegal transactions since cash usage does not leave a footprint. Common motives for operating in black markets are to trade contraband, avoid taxes and regulations, or skirt price controls or rationing. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and services, e.g. "the black market in bush meat". The black market is distinct from the grey market, in which commodities are distributed through channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer, and the white market. Black markets have online counterparts consisting of darknet market websites such as the Silk Road, individual websites, forums and chat rooms. While overlaps exist, the online markets are focused on specific areas including drugs, compromised credentials, malware, digital goods and weapons. Piracy specifically takes place on private or public warez and BitTorrent sites as well as various peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

en.wikipedia.org · CC-BY-SA