Cryptojacking: Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have found a way to make profits

Right now, your computer might be using its memory and processor power – and your electricity – to generate money for someone else, without you ever knowing. It’s called “cryptojacking,” and it is an offshoot of the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Instead of minting coins or printing paper money, creating new units of cryptocurrencies, which is called “mining,” involves performing complex mathematical calculations. These intentionally difficult calculations securely record transactions among people using the cryptocurrency and provide an objective record of the “order” in which transactions are conducted.

The user who successfully completes each calculation gets a reward in the form of a tiny amount of that cryptocurrency. That helps offset the main costs of mining, which involve buying advanced computer processors and paying for electricity to run them. It is not surprising that enterprising cryptocurrency enthusiasts have found a way to increase their profits, mining currency for themselves by using other people’s processing and electrical power.

Bitcoin is plummeting, and it's dragging down other cryptocurrencies too

Bitcoin slumped, dragging down smaller rivals such as ether and litecoin, as concerns that regulators will tighten their grip on the market weigh on the world’s largest cryptocurrency.

Regulators in China and South Korea are increasing oversight on cryptocurrency trading and mining, while the US Securities and Exchange Commission late last year started cracking down on some digital token sales, known as ICOs. Coinmarketcap.com’s decision to exclude Korean pricing data for coins helped create the appearance of a large drop in prices, which some traders attributed as playing a part in the selloff.

"News on the regulatory front is dragging down cryptos," said Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital-asset strategy at VanEck Associates Corp. "South Korea and China tightening is weighing on bitcoin and in the ICO market, things started slowing down, with the SEC cracking down on illegal offerings."
Bitcoin slumped as much as 17 per cent to $14,820, the most in more than two weeks. The rout in bitcoin is part of a broader selloff in the cryptocurrency realm, with all of the top 10 by market cap falling, and most tumbling by at least 10 per cent, according to Coinmarketcap.com. Cardano fell 16 per cent, while litecoin slumped as much as 16 percent to as low as $230. Bitcoin is little changed this year after surging about 1,400 percent in 2017.

Bitcoin futures suggest cryptocurrency's blistering price rise to slow

STOCK MARKET - Newly launched bitcoin futures on Monday suggested that traders expect the cryptocurrency's blistering price gains to slow in the coming months, even as it blasted above $17,000 to a fresh record high in the spot market.

Chicago-based derivatives exchange Cboe Global Markets launched the futures late on Sunday, marking the first time investors could get exposure to the bitcoin market via a large, regulated exchange.

The one-month bitcoin contract opened at 6 pm local time (2300 GMT) on Sunday at $15,460. By late afternoon on Monday in New York, it was trading at $18,650, roughly 8 percent above bitcoin's spot price of $16,900 on the Bitstamp exchange.

Bitcoin earlier hit a record high of $17,270.

Its steep gains and rapid rise have attracted investors around the world as well as intense scrutiny from government regulators, which is the very opposite of what its creators wanted when it first launched bitcoin more than eight years ago.

"The bitcoin founder should be horrified seeing it rise so quickly, as any serious focus on it and its recent explosive move higher will soon end its freedom," said John Taylor Jr, president and founder of research firm Taylor Global Vision in New York.

Bitcoin plunges more than 12% to below $15,000 after hitting record $19,000

Bitcoin tumbled more than 12 per cent in volatile Asian trading on Friday, dropping below the $15,000 level after touching a record high above $19,000 earlier in the session.

Bitcoin was down 12.6 per cent on the Bitstamp exchange at $14,500.76 as of 0530 GMT, after rising to a record $19,000.

It was still up more than 30 per cent for the week, as investors debated about whether the cryptocurrency was in a bubble that was about to burst.

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Bitcoin hits record high as plans to split cryptocurrency gets averted

Bitcoin hit a record high just shy of $8,000 on Wednesday after a coalition of developers and investors suspended a software upgrade planned for next Thursday that could have split the digital currency in two.

In an email on Wednesday, the lead developer of the team planning to carry out the upgrade said "Segwit2x" would be scrapped for now as it could "divide the community." The email by Mike Belshe, chief executive of blockchain security firm BitGo, was also signed by some of the biggest names in the bitcoin world.

SegWit2x is an agreement among high-profile figures in the bitcoin world aimed at upgrading the bitcoin network's capacity. It received significant support when it was announced in May but many bitcoin developers had withdrawn support for the upgrade over the last few months, analysts said.

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The software upgrade would have attempted to address the bitcoin network's limitations in processing millions of daily transactions. The network has not kept pace with growth and is unable to process transactions fast enough.

The upgrade would have changed bitcoin's rules leading to a so-called fork, effectively cloning the existing bitcoin to create another crypto-currency.

Segwit2x was supposed to be the second step in a broad two-step process to enhance transaction capacity. The first step occurred over the summer.

"Indefinitely postponing the fork is a healthy move for crypto assets," said Guy Zyskind, CEO and co-founder of Enigma, a data-driven, crypto-investment platform.