Chrome Web Store bans extensions mining cryptocurrency

In the wake of the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies in the recent past, tech giant Google announced that hereafter, Chrome Web Store will not accept extensions that mine cryptocurrency. However, the company in a blog post clarified that extensions with blockchain-related purposes other than mining will continue to be permitted in the Web Store.

"As the extensions ecosystem continues to evolve, we remain focused on empowering developers to build innovative experiences while keeping our users as safe as possible. Over the past few months, there has been a rise in malicious extensions that appear to provide useful functionality on the surface, while embedding hidden cryptocurrency mining scripts that run in the background without the user's consent. These mining scripts often consume significant CPU resources, and can severely impact system performance and power consumption," the company argued.

So far, Chrome Web Store policy permitted cryptocurrency mining in extensions as long as it is the extension's single purpose, and the user is adequately informed about the mining behaviour. However, Google stated that approximately 90 percent of all extensions with mining scripts that developers attempted to upload to Chrome Web Store failed to comply with these policies, and was thereby rejected or removed from the store.

The extensions platform provides powerful capabilities that have enabled the developer community to build a vibrant catalogue of extensions that help users get the most out of Chrome. Unfortunately, these same capabilities have attracted malicious software developers who attempt to abuse the platform at the expense of users.

Therefore, this policy, the company said, aims to ensure that Chrome users can enjoy the benefits of extensions without exposing themselves to hidden risks. On a related note, existing extensions that mine cryptocurrency will be de-listed from the Chrome Web Store in late June.