Yandex updates its currency converter with crypto
The Russian-based Yandex search engine has updated its currency converter and now displays cryptocurrency rates in a variety of fiat currencies.
The search engine’s cryptocurrency converter provides information on 140 of the most popular cryptocurrencies, as well as data for various countries’ national currencies. The widget is located directly above the search results and includes a price chart as well as a quick conversion tool.
The system gets its data from the aggregator portal Coingecko, and the value of the coins and tokens of interest can be displayed in Russian rubles, US dollars, euros and other fiat currencies. Yandex plans to add more options in the future, as well as a feature that displays the price of a given digital asset in another cryptocurrency.
According to news.bitcoin.com, Yandex’s software can identify standard keywords as well as slang or imprecise language in the query. The search engine’s own statistics have listed bitcoin, ethereum, litecoin, dogecoin and solana as the most popular cryptos by number of searches in 2022.
The updated currency converter may be a welcome addition for Russian citizens in the context of losing access to global online platforms that support similar features. For example, Twitter has launched a platform that can track cryptocurrency prices, but Twitter is now blocked in Russia.
The Yandex code leak
In January 2023, nearly 45 GB of Yandex source code files, allegedly stolen by a former employee, were leaked. The code leak revealed some of the key ranking factors of the Yandex search engine, which can help SEOs better understand how search engines rank content in general, including Google.
A former senior system administrator at Yandex cited by bleepingcomputer.com revealed that the leak does not include any customer data, meaning it does not pose a risk to the privacy or security of Yandex users, nor does it directly threaten to leak proprietary data. technology. The same source revealed that the Yandex employee responsible for the data leak had not tried to sell the code to competitors. He also emphasized that hackers could use the leaked code to try to identify security holes and create targeted exploits.
According to arstechnica.com, in 2015 a former Yandex employee tried to sell the Yandex search engine code on the black market for US$28,000 to finance his own startup. The employees concerned were sentenced to two years’ probation, and the code never saw the light of day.
