Ransomware Could Be Driving up the Price of Bitcoin

Complex interplays are pushing up the price of cryptocurrencies — including the potential for criminals to profit

Credit: SOPA Images/Getty Images

Flagstaff, Arizona. Wakulla County, Florida. Virginia, New York, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. All have been hit by crippling ransomware attacks recently — and U.S. senators last month called on the Department of Homeland Security to step in to help state and local governments survive the aftermath.

Ransomware attacks may represent a problem beyond shutting down local and state services, though. Cybersecurity company Emisoft believes that the value of bitcoin — which was used in 98% of all ransomware payments in the first three months of 2019 — is being bolstered by such attacks.

Victims choosing to pay up when they’re attacked are pushing up demand for bitcoin, which nudges up the price as a result, encouraging speculators into the market, according to Emisoft’s analysis. The firm points to examples like the 2017 WannaCry attack, which infected more than 300,000 computers worldwide, asking them to pay a ransom into a specific bitcoin wallet, as case studies of how specific incidents have increased the value of bitcoin.

Just before the attack raced around the world, bitcoin was trading at around…