Bitcoin's murkier rivals line up to displace it as cybercriminals' favourite


New year jump: Bitcoin jumped 2.5 percent to US$1,022 (RM4,584.69) on the Europe-based Bitstamp exchange, its highest since December 2013. — Reuters

LONDON: Bitcoin is well-entrenched as the preferred payment for cybercriminals like the WannaCry hackers who have hit more than 300,000 computers over the past week, but cryptocurrencies offering more anonymity are threatening to displace it.

A key reason for bitcoin's dominance in the nefarious online underworld, say technologists and cybercrime experts, is its size – the total value of all bitcoins in circulation is more than twice that of the nearest of hundreds of rivals.

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