Monero ransomware is now the default extortion currency. The reason is traceability, not price. Cryptocurrency is now the payment method of choice for cybercriminals. It is decentralized, largely unregulated and relatively anonymous. Bitcoin has snowballed in both awareness and value. So criminals are moving to alternatives that offer more privacy and less volatility. Today, the most popular option for cybercriminals is Monero (XMR) – a cryptocurrency that is all but untraceable.
What Is a Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrencies are digital payment systems that allow direct peer-to-peer transactions over a network. Unlike money in your bank account, no bank or government stands behind this digital currency. Instead they rely on cryptography to verify and record every transaction, which stays incorruptible thanks to blockchain construction. Bitcoin was the world’s first cryptocurrency, and today it remains the largest. There are now thousands of these digital payment systems. They still work as payment, but most people now treat digital currencies as investments.
Why Criminals Choose Cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrencies are more difficult to trace than real money or bank transactions. They are anonymous by design, so agencies struggle to link a real person to the currency exchanged. Ransomware developers who traffic in stolen data sell those assets on the dark web. Using Bitcoin means no in-person transaction, so no exposure. That popularity made cryptocurrency a priority for law enforcement, so criminals started hunting for lesser-known options.
What Makes Monero Ransomware Harder to Trace Than Bitcoin
Both Bitcoin and Monero offer anonymous exchanges. But Bitcoin’s blockchain lets authorities track when and where a transaction happened. In fact, the arrest of “Dread Pirate Roberts” – the founder of the black market website The Silk Road – in October of 2013 illustrates that Bitcoin is not as secure as cybercriminals would like it to be. Monero, on the other hand, encrypts the transaction locations and amounts, allowing holders of the currency to operate under cover of digital secrecy. Furthermore, Monero tricks any potential third-party onlookers by having each transaction appear to be potentially criminal. Because oversight agencies treat anonymized transactions as high-risk, every Monero transaction looks suspect. In addition to the aspect of secrecy, the transaction fees are significantly lower as well, making Monero the obvious choice for dealers of illicit goods and ransomware developers.
Prices have skyrocketed, which makes buying and holding these assets far riskier than it was. grows, price swings for cryptocurrencies grows, price swings get bigger, which pushes cybercriminals away from mainstream options like Bitcoin. Monero ransomware payments will keep shifting toward the most anonymous currencies. That trend holds as public investment grows.
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