EternalBlue virus upgrade, OKCoin has no impact on Bitcoin price

The ransomware WannaCry has ravaged the world, affecting more than 150 countries and 200,000 computers. Hackers demanded $300 (RMB 2,067) worth of Bitcoin from each victim, claiming that they would unlock the computer hard drive only after payment. However, it is understood that as of Monday (15th), the hacker only received $50,000 (RMB 340,000) worth of Bitcoin. This hacker extortion of Bitcoin did not affect the price of Bitcoin. According to the OKCoin Bitcoin price, the price of Bitcoin was 10,639 yuan as of press time.

Image source: OKCoin

However, as of Monday (15th), the organization has only received Bitcoin worth $50,000 (equivalent to RMB 340,000). It is also worth noting that market monitoring has found that the WannaCry ransomware virus that broke out globally has a variant: WannaCry 2.0. Unlike the previous version, this variant cancels the Kill Switch and cannot be shut down by registering a domain name. The spread of the variant ransomware virus may be faster.

According to market sources, more than 100,000 organizations and institutions in nearly 100 countries around the world have been attacked, including 1,600 American organizations, 11,200 Russian organizations, and more than 29,000 IPs in China have been infected. In Spain, the network systems of many companies including telecommunications giant Telefonica, power company Iberdrola, and energy supplier Gas Natural were paralyzed; Portugal Telecom, American transportation giant FedEx, a local government in Sweden, and Russia's second largest mobile communications operator Megafon have all been exposed to attacks. According to Europol, this attack has affected 150 countries and regions. With the update and iteration of the virus version, the specific number may increase.

Since the ransom was paid in Bitcoin, some netizens took the virus out of context and called it "Bitcoin virus". OKCoin, a well-known Bitcoin trading platform in China, responded to the erroneous statement on the Internet by saying that the "ransomware virus" was caused by a computer system vulnerability, and its negative impact cannot be completely "blamed" on Bitcoin. Hackers demanded ransom payment in Bitcoin because they saw the characteristics of Bitcoin in terms of globalization, decentralization and anonymity in payment and transfer. We should objectively view the value of Bitcoin and its underlying technology blockchain, rather than "demonizing" it.

At the same time, OKCoin reminds users that domestic Bitcoin trading platforms currently do not support the withdrawal of Bitcoin. If netizens want to buy Bitcoin to pay the ransom to unblock their computers, they need to choose a trading platform that can withdraw Bitcoin to avoid a second loss. In addition, after paying the ransom, it is still unknown whether the computer attacked by the virus can be effectively unblocked. Therefore, OKCoin technical staff recommends that netizens upgrade and install relevant patches for the Windows operating system as soon as possible. If the machine has been infected with the virus, please disconnect from the Internet immediately to avoid further spread of the infection. Users who have not been attacked by the virus should update the system as soon as possible, install regular and safe antivirus software, and improve the computer's defense capabilities.