Stefan Thomas lost the password to an encrypted USB drive holding 7,002 bitcoins. One team of hackers believes they can unlock it—if they can get Thomas to let them.
The only reason BTC ever spiked is because it was so easy to procure them and artificially horde them to influence the value.
All the cyber criminals who hacked municipalities and held them hostage while demanding BTC as payment are sitting on the majority of known BTC which they couldn’t sell in large amounts at the time without shooting their own golden goose.
BTC never has, and never will, have value beyond what people are willing to pay for them. When you force people to pay for them to decrypt a hacked HDD containing information that actually does have value, you have to be the only dragon sitting on that gold pile so you can double-dip your ransom.
The only reason BTC ever spiked is because it was so easy to procure them and artificially horde them to influence the value.
All the cyber criminals who hacked municipalities and held them hostage while demanding BTC as payment are sitting on the majority of known BTC which they couldn’t sell in large amounts at the time without shooting their own golden goose.
BTC never has, and never will, have value beyond what people are willing to pay for them. When you force people to pay for them to decrypt a hacked HDD containing information that actually does have value, you have to be the only dragon sitting on that gold pile so you can double-dip your ransom.