Web Mining: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Research Using Blockchain
Web mining is a process associated with cryptocurrency technology, such as Bitcoin, that relies on the integrity of the ledger that records all transactions—the blockchain. Maintaining and verifying these transactions requires significant computing power, obtained through the massive use of computer processors in exchange for cryptocurrency payments—known as mining.
It is under these conditions that web mining developed, a process that involves installing a computer script on a website page that exploits the user’s computer’s processing power while they are viewing the page to “mine” cryptocurrency.
Launched in September 2017, the “Coinhive” mining script has significantly increased its presence on the internet. The Pirate Bay, BitTorrent, SafeBrowse, the American television network Showtime (CBS), and several Android applications have used the software in the following months. By early November, 2,500 online stores were using a web mining script.
Consequences of Web Mining, invisible to the internet user consulting a web page: a sometimes considerable slowdown of the capacities of their computers, recurring computer bugs and to a lesser extent repercussions on electricity bills.
Web mining: The user’s consent is at issue
Like blockchain technology, web mining does not yet have a legal framework to define the parameters of its commercial exploitation. The lack of information provided to internet users about the existence of these mining scripts and the use made of their computers by website users has already led to widespread disapproval of the process among internet users, users, and cybersecurity companies.
A survey published in mid-October 2017 revealed that more than 500 million internet users had mined without their knowledge or consent.
Fraudulent maneuvers, manipulation, “Trojan miners,” “cryptojacking”—hidden web mining seems to be associated with Trojan horses and other forms of computer viruses that discreetly infiltrate users’ machines or websites. Some professionals in the sector are therefore considering the possibility of massive website hacks through the integration of web miners.
In response, the vast majority of websites quickly stopped using web miners, claiming it was simply a testing and experimentation phase. Google announced it would ban these processes across all its services, while in November 2017, US Senator Ron Wyden called for the blocking of advertisements that could execute scripts and code on government devices.
Web Mining: A Business Opportunity for the Press
Despite the legal issues it raises, web mining offers an innovative business solution for monetizing websites, currently dominated by intrusive advertising and often associated with the massive exploitation of personal data. Mining scripts allow for the conversion of each new user’s visit into revenue expressed in cryptocurrency.
Thus, in addition to traditional methods—subscription sales, personal data from advertising, affiliate commissions—a new, purely technical form of monetization would be introduced, namely the computing power and battery life of the user’s computer hardware.
This new process could profoundly alter the current model, centered on generating buzz and the massive use of quickly consumed content; however, to be profitable, it requires keeping users on the pages as long as possible in order to best utilize the processing power.
Web mining can thus lead to a shift in the financial objectives of websites, particularly online news outlets, freed from the editorial constraints imposed by their advertisers. However, legitimate reservations are rightly expressed regarding the economic prospects and long-term viability of the process.
Cryptocurrency web mining: A financial reality that still needs to prove itself
Web mining has so far been limited to a certain category of websites: illegal downloading, pirate television channels, and pornographic content. Since monetizing their space through advertising is traditionally more difficult for these sites, they often become pioneers in technological and commercial innovation.
Often described as mere experiments by the owners of sites integrating the script, the initial figures for the Coinhive experiment remain encouraging: €43,000 in three weeks of operation within a testing context. A recent criminal case revealed that European hackers, discreetly exploiting private individuals’ computers to mine cryptocurrencies, were able to generate over $200,000 in value.
The system’s sustainability and legality thus remain to be demonstrated, as the uncertainty surrounding potential revenue depends on the number of visits and the time spent on the page containing the mining script.
