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Cybercriminals are increasingly moving away from bitcoin as their preferred digital currency in favor of lesser-known cryptocurrencies because of prolonged transaction delays, surging transaction costs and general market volatility, experts tell CyberScoop.
Although cybercriminals have been slowly moving away from bitcoin for months, researchers say a noticeable shift towards alternative coins — such as Monero, Dash and ZCash — occurred when bitcoin's value skyrocketed over $19,000 for one bitcoin in mid-December. The price has drastically fluctuated between $12,000 and roughly $19,000 since then.
"Many cybercriminals emulate the operational best practices of legitimate businesses in order to minimize their overhead costs and maximize returns, and in the case of high transaction costs with bitcoin, it makes perfect sense to look at other coins with smaller overheads," said Richard Henderson, a global security strategist with endpoint cybersecurity firm Absolute.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday January 06 2018, @07:51AM (1 child)
You hit on exactly what drove me to invest in petroleum.
Going back ten - twelve years, I was seeing a home-debt bubble of epic proportions. I thought we had no choice to collapse the dollar so all those loans could be paid off. And I did not want to be left with devalued dollars.
I really can't find much use for Gold. It may be good for electrical contacts or jewelery, but its by no means uniquely qualified for that. Its main claim to fame seems to be historical... the faith that somebody will give me something valuable for it - but in and of itself, I can see little use for the stuff. Maybe make a passable fishing sinker?
I figured oil was about the only stable investment... as its value is predicated on the energy / chemical utility it possesses. And I was of the strong belief ( Matthew Simmons - "Twilight in the Desert" ) that we are rapidly depleting a resource which was made by geological processes in geological time. It will not be replenished in my lifetime, that's for sure. And I do remember when Grandpa's wells on the farm ran dry. But we knew the rain would come and the well would work again. I knew in these instances, there will not be a rain of that sort. Well run dry, it stayed dry.
Even to this day, I remain puzzled over why oil was such a bad investment and Bitcoin shoots up so. And why people bid up the price so high of that derived from nothing, and can easily return to nothing, and even while existing has no use other than to say you have some.
All I can figure out is maybe this whole thing is yet another charade to get the workingfolk to buy this up, then one day pull the rug out... taking their life savings. Legally.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by deimtee on Saturday January 06 2018, @10:55AM
It's not politically correct to believe it (because the conclusion is that oil is practically unlimited), but you should read "Power from the Earth" by Thomas Gold. If you assume that what he wrote is even partially correct then it explains a lot about oil availability/prices. Follow it up with "Deep Hot Biosphere" for the complete picture.
Personal opinion: He was right.
Comets are supposedly primordial, but contain copious hydrocarbons, carbonates, and hydrated minerals. It is unreasonable to assume that the aggregation that became the Earth did not also contain similar elements/chemical compounds. If so then they would be, in general, of lower density than rock/metal, and as such would slowly make their way to the surface, collecting in inverted impermeable 'basins', ie, oil reservoirs.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.