Bitcoin may be garnering a lot of interest from all sorts of investors, but it’s losing its luster for criminals, as they move on to a different cryptocurrency.
According to a report in Bloomberg, during the course of the past two months, so-called privacy coins — which were created to avoid tracking — have jumped as law enforcement has begun using software to monitor the use of bitcoin.
Roughly three months ago, the European Union’s Europol law enforcement arm raised concerns about other cryptocurrencies — including privacy coins like Monero, Ethereum and Zcash — are becoming more popular with the bad guys. Europol said ransomware hackers are requiring payments with these alternative currencies instead of bitcoin. In fact, Monero has become a favorite among hackers who are launching ransomware attacks, noted Matt Suiche, founder of Dubai-based cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies.