Is crypto mining the cause of Dropbox's unlimited storage service closure?

Dropbox is not a crypto company per se. It’s a platform that offers its users real-time online data storage and sharing services. An offer that seems to be diverted from its original purpose.

Dropbox’s unlimited storage service used for crypto mining

Dropbox is not a crypto company per se. It’s a platform that offers its users real-time online data storage and sharing services. An offer that seems to be diverted from its original purpose.

Dropbox’s unlimited storage service used for crypto mining

Dropbox, the online storage platform, has decided to discontinue its unlimited storage service. The news follows a number of observations made about the service. Users are diverting it from its original function to carry out crypto mining operations.

This activity is not the only unauthorized practice carried out by users via Dropbox. In a blog post, the company reported a growth in subscriptions to its unlimited storage.

These would not only be for crypto mining purposes, but also for the resale of storage space. Pooling storage space for personal use is another use not authorized by Dropbox.

The drawback with the development of these practices is that they are all resource-intensive. This is particularly the case for crypto mining activities, which are known to be energy-intensive.

Dropbox also recognizes another major limitation of its unlimited storage service. This option led, says the firm, to uneven usage patterns. As a result, in recent years, some users have consumed “thousands of times more storage space than true business customers”.

As a result, Dropbox is now offering only limited storage. New users will now benefit from fifteen terabytes of storage space. According to the company, this is more than enough space to store around 100 million documents.

#tazow Dropbox ditches unlimited storage offering, blaming crypto cloud miners #crypto https://t.co/T55CZ44Lv8 pic.twitter.com/whZQdxRiY2

— Tazow – $TZW (@_Tazow) August 25, 2023

Is Dropbox’s decision legitimate?

For many users, this decision may be disappointing. But for the company, it is unsustainable, difficult and unacceptable for its services to be diverted from their objectives.

Moreover, this operational choice seems to be in line with competitive trends in storage services. Dropbox notes that in recent months, Microsoft and Google have also abandoned their unlimited storage plans.

A choice which, beyond the economic stakes, can be explained from a security point of view. We know that in the past, hackers have exploited cryptojacking malware. This has been done by embedding it in Internet-connected devices or cloud storage accounts.

This history is confirmed by Google. In 2021, the internet giant revealed that hackers could compromise a user account. This, by deploying crypto mining software in just 22 seconds.