The year 2025 has seen a disturbing surge in violent crimes targeting cryptocurrency holders, prompting growing alarm within the digital asset community. At the Baltic Honeybadger 2025 conference in Riga, Latvia, Alena Vranova, founder of hardware wallet manufacturer SatoshiLabs, issued a stark warning about the trend.
These crimes—commonly referred to as “wrench attacks”—involve physical assault, kidnapping, or extortion, all with one primary goal: forcing victims to hand over their private keys.
Vranova told the audience that at least one Bitcoin holder somewhere in the world is kidnapped, tortured, extorted, or subjected to even worse crimes every week. Contrary to the belief that such attacks only target wealthy “Bitcoin OGs,” she highlighted documented cases where victims were assaulted for as little as $6,000 in crypto, and even murdered for $50,000 worth of digital assets.
Industry data paints an even bleaker picture. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reports that the number of wrench attacks in 2025 has already nearly matched the worst year on record—and, if the current trajectory holds, could double by year’s end.
Data Breaches Driving Criminal Targeting
One of the most significant contributors to this rise in violence is the massive wave of personal data leaks from centralized services. Vranova revealed that over 80 million cryptocurrency user identities are now exposed online, with 2.2 million individuals’ home addresses publicly accessible.
Most of these leaks originate from centralized exchanges and wallet service providers bound by Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. While designed to prevent money laundering and financial crime, these rules force platforms to collect and store sensitive data such as names, phone numbers, government IDs, and residential addresses—essentially creating a “shopping list” for criminals once the data is compromised.
The consequences have been very real. In May 2025, U.S. exchange Coinbase confirmed a hack that exposed the personal details—including addresses—of several customers. Just a month later, cybersecurity outlet Cybernews uncovered multiple databases containing over 16 billion stolen credentials from tech giants such as Apple, Facebook, and Google. These records included passwords, geolocation data, and personal information—data that can easily be cross-referenced to identify cryptocurrency investors.
Armed with stolen data and blockchain analytics tools, criminals can pinpoint individuals with significant Bitcoin or other crypto holdings. Once identified, victims may be subjected to targeted phishing scams, SIM-swapping attacks, or—in the worst cases—physical violence aimed at coercing them into surrendering their private keys.
With the ongoing bull market attracting waves of new and often less security-conscious investors, organized crime groups are seizing the opportunity to boost profits through theft and extortion. Vranova warned that if this cycle of rising valuations and weak data protection continues, crypto holders worldwide could face an increasingly hostile environment.
Crypto Holders Step Up Security
In response to the growing threat, the cryptocurrency community is doubling down on both physical and operational security. High-profile Bitcoin figures are hiring private security teams, fortifying their homes, and using advanced privacy tools to hide their holdings.
Even average retail investors are taking precautions. Industry safety advocates recommend:
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Reducing one’s public crypto profile.
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Using non-custodial wallets.
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Splitting assets across multiple secure locations.
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Avoiding public discussion of portfolio size or investment strategies.
Security experts also stress the importance of operational security (opsec)—including using unique passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, regularly checking if personal data has been leaked, and remaining alert to suspicious contact attempts.
If current trends persist, 2025 is on track to surpass—and potentially double—the previous record for physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders. It’s a sobering milestone for a technology once hailed as digital gold, and a reminder that in the world of decentralized finance, securing one’s wealth goes far beyond safeguarding a private key.
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