As many if not all of you know, 5 years ago alpha02 was killed after an operation by LE. Through this post myself and everyone working at AlphaBay remember him not only for his own personality and traits but also the massive impact he has had on the scene.
We carry the AlphaBay name proud for many reasons. From paving the way for marketplaces today by introducing features used by all markets, being the first big marketplace to introduce Monero at the time as well to having bigger visions and following our own internal roadmap, AlphaBay has always stood for something more. Myself together with alpha02 and our amazing team were able to transform a small website into the largest darknet marketplace. We did so by hard work and passion, using each others strengths and finding a way to navigate what were mostly uncharted territories, and sure enough the results came out. Today we do exactly the same and although the environment is much more hostile , we honor the work ethic that had been in place by alpha02 and continue his legacy by already becoming the current biggest marketplace in less than 1 year since our relaunch.
Alpha02 put his heart and soul into the AlphaBay project and although a lot of people seem him as a titan in his field, they forget that he was also a human. A father, a husband, a son and a brother. He had hopes and aspirations like the rest of us. He was unjustly taken from his family and the scene, all while having so much more to offer. Suffering a fate he did not deserve on these days we remember how he suffered for our all of ‘sins’ at least according to the subjective book of rules that is referred to as ‘the law’.
I can personally vouch for what a person he was and although the media spew a lot of bullshit at the time which they had no idea of the inside workings of, the real alpha02 was a kind and gentle soul. Someone with whom not only we created an amazing project but also bonded a strong friendship. We vowed to take it to the bitter end and fulfill the visions we had of a much more robust and sophisticated marketplace system that would, finally, make obvious that the war on drugs is not only senseless but ridiculous. People will always find a way to do what they want and if it does not hurt anyone else, why is it someone elses business what they do?
We miss you brother, we have not forgotten you and we will usher a new age to the DNM scene by introducing the materialized version of what we dreamed up all those years ago. Rest in peace.
Thank you.