It may seem like everyone from Grandma to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has piled into Bitcoin in the past year, but theres at least one group thats looking for a way out: Criminals.
In the next six to 12 months, the most widely used digital coin is poised to lose its spot as a dominant payment method on the dark web, according to a study by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Its biggest competitors? Litecoin and Dash.
Transacting with Bitcoin has become more expensive and less efficientas an influx of users has put strain on the network, leading to higher fees. As a result, some cryptocurrency enthusiasts -- including criminals, who were among Bitcoins earliest adopters -- have resorted to other digital coins.
Bitcoin is still the gold standard for transactions in the illegal underworld, but its losing ground to some of its crypto cousins, the study found. Litecoin, the sixth-most valuable digital currency, is now accepted by nearly one third of all dark-web vendors who take alternative payment methods. Dash, the 12th-biggest cryptocurrency, is accepted by 20 percent of the market.
Source: Recorded Future
The Dash network is not aware of a single Darknet market that uses Dash on its platform, said Ryan Taylor, Dash Core Group Inc.s chief executive officer, in an email sent by an external spokesman. We believe it is an absurd assertion that the report concluded that 20 percent of vendors accept Dash for Darknet transactions. Numerous publicly available reports, even with Tor and VPN assisted searches, have indicated no adoption of Dash as an alternative payment method for these transactions.
Recorded Future scoured 150 prominent message boards, marketplaces and illegal services to find that Litecoin is the second-most popular cryptocurrency on the dark web. The Somerville, Massachusetts-based researchers also broke down their results by geography, noting that Russians preferred Litecoin because of its convenience, while English speakers favored Monero for its security features.
The same class of power users who helped to establish Bitcoin as a unified payment instrument across the dark web, spurring the underground economy and plaguing the world with never-ending ransomware attacks, illicit drugs, and weaponry, now see it as a roadblock to proliferating criminal business, wrote Andrei Barysevich and Alexandr Solad, the reports authors. Litecoin and Dash will take their place next to Bitcoin as the everyday payment currencies of the dark web.
Criminal Underworld Is Dropping Bitcoin for Another Currency
See the rest here:
Criminals May Ditch Bitcoin for Litecoin, Dash, Study Says ...
- cryptocurrency Litecoin - Bitcoin Exchange Guide - January 25th, 2018 [January 25th, 2018]
- What Is Litecoin? Here's Everything You Need To Know ... - February 1st, 2018 [February 1st, 2018]
- Could Litecoin Be a Better Investment Than Bitcoin ... - February 15th, 2018 [February 15th, 2018]
- What's Wrong With Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin? -- The ... - March 23rd, 2018 [March 23rd, 2018]
- Mining Calculator Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and Monero - April 22nd, 2018 [April 22nd, 2018]
- Litecoin Courting TenX and Korbit - Just a Month after ... - April 22nd, 2018 [April 22nd, 2018]
- Litecoin vs Bitcoin: The 2 Most Popular Digital Coins Compared - April 24th, 2018 [April 24th, 2018]
- Litecoin Review - Charlie Lee's Open Source P2P LTC ... - April 24th, 2018 [April 24th, 2018]
- 3 Ways Litecoin (LTC) Will Grow In 2018 - April 24th, 2018 [April 24th, 2018]
- Litecoin - Litecoin Price Live, LTC Value, Mining, Wallet ... - May 7th, 2018 [May 7th, 2018]
- Litecoin price analysis: Balancing at the edge of a cliff ... - August 13th, 2018 [August 13th, 2018]
- What is Litecoin? A Basic Beginners Guide - Blockgeeks - September 18th, 2018 [September 18th, 2018]
- Litecoin Mining Pool (LTC) | Coinfoundry - December 3rd, 2018 [December 3rd, 2018]
- What is Litecoin? | A Beginner's Guide - December 3rd, 2018 [December 3rd, 2018]
- Litecoin Soars 36% As Investors Gain Confidence - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- Litecoin Definition | Investopedia - December 7th, 2018 [December 7th, 2018]
- What Is Litecoin? What to Know in 2019 - TheStreet - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- Crypto Market Extend Gains: Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash ... - December 22nd, 2018 [December 22nd, 2018]
- CMA warns against new coin offering - mediamaxnetwork.co.ke - January 4th, 2019 [January 4th, 2019]
- 3.17$ Get Free | Free Cloud Mining Site 2019 | Live ... - January 4th, 2019 [January 4th, 2019]
- Crypto Prices Fall; Ireland Toughens Law on Money Laundering - January 4th, 2019 [January 4th, 2019]
- Litecoin (LTC): Rejected at $40, this downtrend could last longer - January 18th, 2019 [January 18th, 2019]
- Litecoin | Litecoin Price | LTC | Litecoin Chart | Info ... - January 23rd, 2019 [January 23rd, 2019]
- Litecoin (LTC) Price, Chart, Info | CoinGecko - January 23rd, 2019 [January 23rd, 2019]
- Top 3 Litecoin Price Predictions for 2018 ~ InvestingPR.com - January 25th, 2019 [January 25th, 2019]
- Litecoin Climbs More Than 30% In A Matter Of Hours - February 11th, 2019 [February 11th, 2019]
- Litecoin - investopedia.com - February 12th, 2019 [February 12th, 2019]
- Ex-Googler Gives the World a Better Bitcoin | WIRED - February 12th, 2019 [February 12th, 2019]
- Litecoin Is Surging, Boosting Ethereum, Ripple's XRP And ... - February 12th, 2019 [February 12th, 2019]
- Litecoin r/litecoin - reddit - February 12th, 2019 [February 12th, 2019]
- Beginner's Guide | litecoinpool.org - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- litecoinpool.org - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- Litecoin Value | Litecoin Price | Litecoin Wallet ... - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- What Is Litecoin? LTC News, Price and Charts - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- Moon Litecoin - Free Litecoin Faucet - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- Litecoin - Investopedia - April 16th, 2019 [April 16th, 2019]
- Litecoin (LTC) price: News & Live Chart - Trading Analysis ... - May 5th, 2019 [May 5th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin And Dogecoin Bulls Aim Higher ... - May 10th, 2019 [May 10th, 2019]
- Will Litecoin (LTC) Rally to $1,000 After August 2019 Halving? - May 10th, 2019 [May 10th, 2019]
- Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis: Dips Remain Attractive To ... - May 10th, 2019 [May 10th, 2019]
- Litecoin (LTC) Price Analysis: Risk Of Additional Weakness ... - May 10th, 2019 [May 10th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 15/09/19 - FX Empire - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin could start its road to recovery if it breaks out of the parallel channel - AMBCrypto - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Fractal Hints Bitcoin Price May Soon Tumble to $8,300 - Ethereum World News - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin could swing higher following the completion of ascending triangle pattern - AMBCrypto - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Exhibits 4% Hike in the Intraday Trading - CryptoNewsZ - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin Price Analysis and Prediction for September 12th 2019: BTC, ETH, and LTC - The Merkle Hash - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Ready for Gains as Alts Turn Green - Price Analysis - CryptoGlobe - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Cryptocurrencies price prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum & Litecoin - American Wrap - 16 September - FXStreet - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- InnfiRAT Malware Steals Litecoin And Bitcoin Wallet Information - BleepingComputer - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Gears Up for A Rebound; Hovers Around $65 - CryptoNewsZ - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 13/09/19 - Yahoo Finance - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Weiss Crypto Ratings Downgrades Litecoin & Cardano, Ups Monero - Cryptonews - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Cryptocurrencies price prediction: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin - American Wrap - 19 September - FXStreet - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Foundation Selects Celsius Network as Its Preferred Interest-bearing Wallet - Business Wire - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 16/09/19 - Yahoo Finance - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Crypto Market And Bitcoin Holding Support: BCH, Litecoin, EOS, XLM Analysis - newsBTC - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin vs. Litecoin: BTC Price Trend Seems Disturbed; LTC Reflects Growth in the Price - CryptoNewsZ - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin price analysis: LTC/USD bullish frenzy is unstoppable - FXStreet - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 14/09/19 - Yahoo Finance - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin And Crypto Wallets Are Now Being Targeted By Malware - Forbes - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin price analysis: LTC/USD reclaims $70 support amid broad-based crypto recovery - FXStreet - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Price Escalation Prepones the Price Rally; Uptrend Reflects Stability - CryptoNewsZ - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoins price bounces back while Bitcoins price stays steady - Decrypt - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Flatlines As Ripples XRP, Ethereum, Litecoin And Bitcoin Cash Surge - Forbes - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Crypto Market Cap & Bitcoin Drop Sharply: BCH, Litecoin, ADA, TRX Analysis - newsBTC - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Bitcoin Cash ABC, Litecoin and Ripple Daily Analysis 19/09/19 - Yahoo Finance - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin will have succeeded when it doesnt need Charlie Lee [INTERVIEW] - CryptoSlate - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin Non-Profit to Hold Undisclosed Treasury Sum with Crypto Lender - CoinDesk - September 19th, 2019 [September 19th, 2019]
- Litecoin and Bitcoin wallets on iPhones older than and including iPhone X are insecure, says LTC developer - AMBCrypto - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Tether (USDT) Becomes Fourth Biggest Cryptocurrency, Trumping Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC) - U.Today - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Litecoin Turns Surprisingly Bullish Due to These Five Factors - BeInCrypto - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Litecoin Gets Back To The Lower Border Of The Channel - Benzinga - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- The Hard Week Thats Been Hitting Litecoin - Live Bitcoin News - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Litecoin Price Changed by 3.49 percent - ICO Brothers - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Litecoin looks to gain movement with potential inverted bart formation - AMBCrypto - October 26th, 2019 [October 26th, 2019]
- Litecoin set to breach ascending triangle as buying pressure rises - AMBCrypto - October 26th, 2019 [October 26th, 2019]
- A bearish technical analysis for Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Litecoin; but what if bullish? - CryptoSlate - October 26th, 2019 [October 26th, 2019]
- You Can Now Pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin on Amazon - U.Today - October 26th, 2019 [October 26th, 2019]
- Bitcoin and Litecoin Skyrocket By Over 11% In Just Hours - UseTheBitcoin - October 26th, 2019 [October 26th, 2019]