Is Monero the New Bitcoin?
With the boom in bitcoin popularity, hackers are beginning to find an alternative crypto-currency to use for ransom demands. Due to more individuals buying bitcoin, the process of purchasing the digital currency has become rather cumbersome. One of the biggest issues lies in the amount of time it takes to complete the purchase. Often times this could take days. This is not ideal for various reasons. First, bitcoin value has been changing drastically on a daily basis, if not hourly. Secondly, if your files are encrypted and you have to wait days to purchase the bitcoin, the urgency to pay the demand decreases. Therefore, hackers are not getting paid as often as they’d like. Lastly, hackers are questioning the security of bitcoin, due to the recent arrest of various cyber criminals who used the digital currency.
Therefore, it is suggested cyber criminals will begin moving toward monero. This crypto-currency is not something new, in fact it has been around since 2014. However, it does provide increased stability and security for the hackers who choose to use it. There are currently ransomware variants, such as Kirk ransomware, that are demanding payment in monero instead of bitcoin.
It is unclear if the increased use of monero will cause bitcoin value to plummet, although it is not unreasonable to speculate such.
