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As cryptocurrency gains in popularity and price, some criminals are taking to violent measures to steal funds from high-profile crypto holders.<\/p>\n
Jameson Lopp\u2019s GitHub repository, which logs such incidents, has recorded 22 \u201c$5 wrench\u201d attacks on crypto holders in 2025 alone. The moniker comes from the crude and violent methods perpetrators use to compel crypto holders to hand over their bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In many cases, local law enforcement can intervene before anyone is harmed and funds are lost. But there is a growing trend of increasingly violent and successful attacks, some of which have resulted in permanent harm and even death.<\/p>\n
The most recent incident in Paris, France compelled the French Ministry of the Interior to hold a meeting to address the rising trend. Here are just seven of the most high-profile attacks this year.<\/p>\n
The founder of crypto wallet Ledger, David Balland, and his wife, Amandine Balland, were kidnapped<\/a> from their home on Jan. 21. The couple was put in a car, then separated and held at different locations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the kidnappers called an executive at Ledger and demanded a substantial ransom to be paid in cryptocurrencies. They reportedly mutilated Balland\u2019s hand and sent Ledger a photograph to put pressure on the company.<\/p>\n Some 230 officers participated in the search after Ledger alerted authorities. The police managed to locate and free David on Jan. 22 in Ch\u00e2teauroux, 30 miles southwest of his residence. One day later, after questioning arrested suspects and analyzing phone records, police were able to locate and rescue Amandine in \u00c9tampes, 80 miles north of Vierzon.<\/p>\n A small portion of the ransom was paid. Beccuau said it was frozen and tracked, leading to the arrest of nine men and one woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Jan. 20, Korean Bitcoin (BTC) trader Taehwa Kim met with a man under the alias \u201cJC\u201d in Makati City, Philippines who was supposedly interested in buying his Lamborghini. After a test drive, they stopped at a spa, supposedly to meet with JC\u2019s lawyer. Three other men forced Kim into another vehicle and bound his hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kim was kept for three days. Then, the attackers abandoned him some 50 kilometers away, his hands still tied, where police officers found him.<\/p>\n The perpetrators didn\u2019t manage to get his crypto, but they stole his car, his Rolex watch, his wallet and the keys to his house.\u00a0<\/p>\n In November 2024, Kick streamer and cosplayer Kaitlyn Siragusa, known professionally as \u201cAmouranth,\u201d posted a screenshot on X of her crypto wallet. It held some $20 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and $80,000 in Ether (ETH).\u00a0<\/p>\n Months later, on March 2, 2025, three armed assailants allegedly broke into her home with the intent of stealing her cryptocurrency. She posted during the incident on X, stating, \u201cI\u2019m being too robbed at gunpont. I believe I shot one of them they wanted crypto is what they were yelling they pulled me out of bed.\u201d<\/p>\n Siragusa claimed that the assailants physically assaulted her before she discharged a weapon, after which they fled the scene. She said that police were testing blood left by suspects at the scene and posted video of the incident on her X profile.\u00a0<\/p>\n On March 29, police in S\u00e3o Paulo arrested<\/a> a retired military police officer in connection with the week-long kidnapping of a Spanish businessman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to authorities, the businessman said he was approached by two men dressed in fake civil police uniforms and forced into a truck. Upon reaching a secluded location on the outskirts of the city, the assailants held him and demanded $50 million in cryptocurrency.<\/p>\n Local media said the kidnappers drugged their victim with sleeping pills, but he was still able to escape when one of them went to the bathroom. After finding a filling station, he tipped off police, who seized one of the suspects as well as a pistol and ammunition.\u00a0<\/p>\n The daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium, narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt<\/a> in Paris when passersby intervened.<\/p>\n Three masked attackers tried to force Noizat\u2019s daughter and her son into a van while they were taking a walk in Paris on May 13.\u00a0<\/p>\n En plein Paris, un homme a \u00e9t\u00e9 violent\u00e9 par des individus cagoul\u00e9s, habill\u00e9s tout en noir. Ils tentaient de l’enlever. Un homme a surgi, extincteur \u00e0 la main, pour les faire fuir. \u2192https:\/\/t.co\/P0qV6PR40v<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/9f4r2Gi7ho<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Le Figaro (@Le_Figaro) May 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Noizat\u2019s daughter managed to disarm an attacker, after which a passing crowd intervened. The assailants fled in a van, which was later found abandoned nearby. The victims sustained injuries and were evacuated to a local hospital. <\/p>\n Local media reported that the Brigade for the Suppression of Banditry, a special police unit of the French Ministry of the Interior, was investigating the incident.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kidnappers in Paris, France abducted<\/a> the father of a French cryptocurrency entrepreneur on May 4.\u00a0<\/p>\n The attackers took him to Essonne, 35 miles away from the Paris street where they grabbed<\/a> him, and cut off his finger. They made a video and sent it to his son, demanding 5 million euros in crypto. The victim\u2019s son subsequently contacted police.\u00a0<\/p>\n The victim was held for two days before French police were able to find and rescue him. According to CNN, five people were arrested<\/a> in connection with the kidnapping.\u00a0<\/p>\n Authorities have noted the striking similarities of the case to that of Balland, whose attackers also took him several miles from the city and mutilated his hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, there\u2019s at least a link in the modus operandi. Now, whether it\u2019s the same team or not is for the investigators to say,\u201d said internal security expert Guillaume Farde.<\/p>\n The rise in recent attacks has shaken the crypto industry. Ben Davis, co-founder and CEO at blockchain insurance firm Native, told Cointelegraph, \u201cWe used to see crypto wrench attacks predominantly happening when executives were abroad or traveling. However, high-profile cases like the kidnapping of Ledger\u2019s co-founder show that attackers are now targeting individuals in their own homes, with more planning and precision than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n Authorities are responding to concerns as well. On May 16, the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau met with cryptocurrency professionals<\/a> to address the recent uptick in violent crime against industry figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n For the foreseeable future, personal security, not just asset security, will be a defining theme of the crypto industry.\u00a0<\/p>\nLambo sale goes wrong for Korean Bitcoin trader<\/h2>\n
Streamer shoots would-be crypto thieves<\/h2>\n
Kidnappers demand $50 million in crypto from Spanish businessman<\/h2>\n
Daughter of crypto exchange owner fights off assailants\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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Assailants target father of crypto entrepreneur<\/h2>\n
Authorities seek answers and crypto holders want security<\/h2>\n