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2 comments

[–] smallpond 3 points (+3|-0) Edited

On May 2017 security experts at Proofpoint discovered that many machines weren’t infected by WannaCry because they were previously infected by the Adylkuzz cryptocurrency mining malware that uses the NSA EternalBlue exploit.to spread and infect machines to involve in a Monero botnet.

Nice: we're starting to mimic nature. Makes me think of how carriers of sickle cell anemia have some protection against malaria.

I wonder what proportion of Monero mining is malware based - and what proportion of Monero trading is crime-related.

[–] PMYA [OP] 1 points (+1|-0)

I would guess very little on both counts. The reason it is being mined is because it is relatively profitable compared to other coins for people who don't have a ridiculous setup. People also want to trade it, which is important for people who are mining on hacked machines because it can be moved out of Monero easily.

Crypto trading is probably not that closely linked to illegal activity. The two biggest dark markets were shut down, and the third biggest is suspected to be controlled by the FBI. During the time it happened, all currencies were skyrocketing in value and still trading the same volume.