The Europol has for the first time released a cybercrime report examining the growing role of zcash, monero and ether on the darknet.

In the 2017 Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), Europol states that, although bitcoin is still the preferred currency in cybercrime, the landscape is beginning to evolve, with "monero, ethereum and zcash … gaining popularity within the digital underground."

The research document analyzes the differing desirability of these cryptocurrencies for cybercriminals, and concludes that monero is increasingly popular due to the "additional security and privacy features it offers."

Europol also mentions the cryptocurrencies' popularity on darknet marketplaces, and decribes the first known case, earlier this year, of a monero-focused ransomware named Kirk.

Discussing Ethereum's ether token, the assessment restates Europol's earlier concerns that smart contracts could be used to formalize payments between crime service providers. Further, it documents a case of a decentralized darknet market planned to operate on the Ethereum blockchain.