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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: 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.