- Monero’s mining hashrate has plummeted, falling from 2.9 Gbps on May 29 to 1.78 Gbps on May 31.
- The decline coincided with the launch of Europol's Operation Endgame, the largest-ever operation against a botnet.
Recent data shows that Monero (XMR) mining hashrate has dropped significantly, signaling major changes are happening to the network. In just two days, Monero's hashrate has fallen from 2.9 gigahash to 1.78 gigahash. This drop represents a third of a hash and is the lowest level in three years. The drop coincides with the rollout of “Operation Endgame” officially by Europol, the European Union's law enforcement cooperation agency.
European Union (EU) agencies have attempted to attack and block so-called “droppers” – malware used to attack systems. Droppers are Trojan horses designed to install malware on computers.
Europol, working with leaders from France, Germany and the Netherlands, called it the “largest operation against a botnet in history.” In total, the agency shut down 100 servers, seized more than 2,000 domains, searched 16 houses, mostly in Ukraine, and made four arrests. In addition, eight cybercriminals remain at large, and the investigation has revealed that one of the main suspects made at least 69 million euros in cryptocurrency.
According to Europol, Monero (XMR) is resistant to ASIC and GPU mining, making it easier for such illicit operations and is particularly well suited to cryptojacking, which allows malicious actors to install mining software on unsuspecting users' systems.
Additionally, Monero's complex nature makes it ideal for money laundering, as transactions are difficult to identify and trace. Its standard anonymity has made the coin a favorite target for illicit activity and it has recently come under regulatory scrutiny.
Due to the complexity of Monero transactions, it remains to be proven how much of the illicit activity is linked to the cryptocurrency, but the drop in hash rate has raised serious doubts about the network and its corresponding coin.
Monero (XMR)’s Future is Unclear
Monero’s XMR continues to show strength following the sudden drop in hash rate, with the altcoin trading at $164 at the time of writing. 4% increase In the last 24 hours, altcoins have risen in weekly 17% increasemaking it one of the best performing companies in the cryptocurrency market.
Ranking 45th with a market cap of $3 billion, XMR is building strong bullish momentum. Once ranked among the top 15 coins, this altcoin has struggled to keep up with its peers. This is highlighted by its failure to revisit its all-time high of $542, set nearly six years ago.
Recently, Binance announced the delisting of XMR, which caused great concern among investors. Plummeting 23% Prices rise. While there are still fears that regulatory pressures will scare investors away from digital assets, many are hopeful that their success is assured in a world where financial privacy is increasingly desired.
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