Could crypto-mining malware actually be a good thing?

Could crypto-mining in the browser actually be a good thing? Well. I found myself thinking yes, yes it could. As I drank my morning coffee while strolling through Hyde Park this morning (pic included FTW) I envisaged a day where we'll happily agree to it.

It seems that more and more sites are getting hacked and having mining code inserted into them. It's a weird thing. The code basically uses the browser as an interface to the viewer's computer, then uses their own computer to mine cryptocurrency for whoever placed the code into the site. There's outrage at this, and rightly so, but it raises the question as to whether this is something that

• we're going to have to get used too
• maybe it's the way crypto-currency will go forward?

If it's profitable, it's going to happen. Like it or not. Imagine if Google stuck a mining script in their homepage code? Sure, they don't exactly need the money (profits are up 29%!), but as capitalist organisation I'm sure they wouldn't say no to some more. They won't at the moment, users would be outraged, but if it starts to become more mainstream you can see it.

Why would it become more mainstream? Well, I suggest that you can see a business model whereby, for example, NetFlix lets you watch movies for free, as long as you let their mining script run in the background. Would you be interested in free Netflix? If there was a way to rate-limit the mining software, sure I would. This type of payment system could well become widespread amongst sites that we traditionally pay for in the future. Imagine browsing Amazon for a new phone, and them saying "Hey, leave your browser open for another 30 minutes, and we'll take $5 off that purchase for you!). Amazon, Netflix etc could ask you to tick a box, and depending on your computer speed, and the amount of resources that you were willing to give them, they'd offer you access to different tiers of films/tv shows.

It's an interesting idea. There's cases throughout history of illegal and unsavoury activities entering the mainstream. I wouldn't be betting against this becoming a reality myself (and I'm not even sure I'd be annoyed).

--- About me ---
My name is James, I live in London. I'm interested in crypto-currency, soccer (or football as we call it), swing dancing, maps, and the augmented-reality game Ingress. I hope you enjoyed reading my post.