Physical attacks targeting Bitcoin and crypto holders are rising at an alarming rate, according to new data tracked by CASA co-founder Jameson Lopp.
Key Takeaways:
- Crypto-related physical attacks have surged 169% since February, with 48 incidents reported in 2025 so far.
- Victims include everyday holders and executives, as rising Bitcoin prices make them high-value targets.
- Security experts warn that while threats are growing, self-custody tools and best practices have also significantly improved.
Since late February, 35 new violent incidents have been reported globally, a 169% increase in just six and a half months, according to a report by Forbes.
The uptick adds to an already troubling trend, as cryptocurrency markets continue their bullish run.
In total, 48 attacks have occurred so far in 2025, marking a 33% increase over all of 2024. France alone has accounted for 14 of this year’s reported incidents.
Victims range from retail holders and traders to crypto executives, highlighting the broad scope of the threat.
One of the most disturbing cases took place on September 6 in Cambridge, Canada, where a young man was abducted at gunpoint and forced to transfer funds into a cryptocurrency wallet.
“He was compelled to deposit a large amount of money into a cryptocurrency account,” said Waterloo Regional Police officer Chris Iden.
While the victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries, the suspects, described as four Black males in a dark-colored van, remain unidentified.
Speaking in a recent interview, Lopp emphasized that security is a moving target for digital asset holders. “The security landscape is constantly changing,” he said.
“It is just an aspect of the ecosystem that any prudent investor should stay on top of, since this asset class is highly unforgiving of mistakes.”
Lopp believes Bitcoin’s rising value is a double-edged sword. “It is more valuable, hence there are more felons pursuing to take it away from you,” he said.
But improvements in self-custody tools and best practices have also advanced significantly. “We have greatly improved our security best practices over the years to counteract the savvier attackers,” he added.
He noted that ETFs can be a safer alternative for those who simply want price exposure.
“You trade off things like social engineering risk and poor key management risk for the risk that the custodian may fall victim to such attacks or losses,” Lopp explained.
Stay Safe: Avoid Flaunting Crypto Holdings, Report Advises
To help users stay safe, the author of the report offered some straightforward advice: Don’t be ‘the Bitcoin guy’ in your community.
Avoid publicizing holdings, especially on social media. Self-custody users should invest time in understanding security basics like seed phrase protection, passphrases, and using multisig wallets with geographically separated signing devices.
Other tips include avoiding overly complex storage systems that might become inaccessible even to the owner and considering a balance between self-custody and delegated custody depending on individual risk profiles.
France has become a hotspot for these crimes, with 14 out of 50 global wrench attacks recorded there over the past year.
Moroccan police in June arrested a suspect accused of kidnapping crypto executives.
In France, the father of a crypto millionaire was brutally attacked. And in New York, a tourist was tortured for over two weeks as kidnappers tried to extract his Bitcoin credentials.
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