Cryptocurrency mining malware is malware, that, without permission of a device's owner, uses the device's computing power to generate new
units of a particular cryptocurrency (which it gives to the criminals operating the malware) by completing complex math problems that require significant processing power to solve.
That means companies like Coinbase or Gemini, which serve as marketplaces and exchanges for virtual currencies, and advertisers promoting an ICO or encouraging the
purchase of a particular cryptocurrency, are effectively shut out of 70 percent of the world's digital ad market.
Token - Token is a word often used interchangeably with cryptocurrencies, or single
units of a particular cryptocurrency, but tend to represent a digital asset, utility, or equity that runs on top of another blockchain.
The process of mining for cryptocurrencies requires users to lend their computer processing power to solve complex mathematical equations needed to authenticate transactions across the blockchain — a distributed ledger that keeps track of all sales and
purchases of a particular cryptocurrency.
When such hacks happen, the prices
of particular cryptocurrencies are affected and in most cases, the value drops by big margins.
Yet that outcome would pose a significant danger, Peterffy argued, suggesting that a hypothetical plunge in the price
of a particular cryptocurrency could send CME reeling financially.