AlphaBay was reportedly launched in September 2014,[1] pre-launched in November 2014 and officially launched on December 22, 2014, it saw a steady growth, with 14,000 new users in the first 90 days of operation. The darknet informer website Gwern.net placed AlphaBay Market in the top tier of markets regarding the 6-month survival probability and it had proven to be successful.[13] In October 2015, it was recognized as the largest online darknet market according to Dan Palumbo, research director at Digital Citizens Alliance.[14]