Source: Cointelegraph
Original: ( Surge in cryptocurrency violent robbery cases: six attacks targeting investors )
As cryptocurrency becomes more popular and its value rises, some criminals have started to use violent means to steal money from well-known cryptocurrency holders.
Jameson Lopp's repository on GitHub records show that there were 22 '$5 wrench' attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders in 2025 alone. This term originates from the brutal violence used by criminals to force cryptocurrency holders to hand over their digital assets.
In most cases, local law enforcement has been able to intervene in time before victims were harmed and funds were lost. However, violent and successful attacks are on the rise, with some incidents resulting in permanent injury or even death.
A recent incident in Paris has prompted the French Ministry of the Interior to hold a special meeting to address this increasingly severe trend. Here are the seven most impactful attacks that have occurred this year.
David Balland, the founder of the cryptocurrency wallet Ledger, and his wife Amandine Balland were kidnapped from their home on January 21. The couple was forced into a car and subsequently held separately at different locations.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the kidnappers contacted a Ledger executive, demanding a large amount of cryptocurrency as ransom. Reports indicate that the criminals inflicted brutal harm to Balland's hand and sent photos to Ledger to apply pressure.
After Ledger reported to the authorities, about 230 officers participated in the search and rescue operation. Police successfully found and rescued David on January 22 in Châteauroux (30 miles southwest of his residence). The next day, through interrogating arrested suspects and analyzing phone records, police successfully rescued Amandine in Étampes (80 miles north of Vierzon).
A small amount of ransom has been paid. Beccuau said the funds were frozen and tracked, eventually leading to the arrest of nine men and one woman.
On Jan. 20, Korean Bitcoin (BTC) trader Taehwa Kim met with a man under the alias “JC” 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’s lawyer. Three other men forced Kim into another vehicle and bound his hands.
Kim was kept for three days. Then, the attackers abandoned him some 50 kilometers away, his hands still tied, where police officers found him.
The perpetrators didn’t manage to get his crypto, but they stole his car, his Rolex watch, his wallet and the keys to his house.
In November 2024, Kick streamer and cosplayer Kaitlyn Siragusa, known professionally as “Amouranth,” posted a screenshot on X of her crypto wallet. It held some $20 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and $80,000 in Ether (ETH).
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, “I’m being too robbed at gunpoint. I believe I shot one of them they wanted crypto is what they were yelling they pulled me out of bed.”
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.
On March 29, police in São Paulo arrested a retired military police officer in connection with the week-long kidnapping of a Spanish businessman.
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.
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.
The daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium, narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt in Paris when passersby intervened.
Three masked attackers tried to force Noizat’s daughter and her son into a van while they were taking a walk in Paris on May 13.
In the heart of Paris, a man was assaulted by individuals in hoods, dressed all in black. They attempted to kidnap him. A man suddenly appeared, extinguisher in hand, to drive them away. →https://t.co/P0qV6PR40v pic.twitter.com/9f4r2Gi7ho
Noizat’s 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.
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.
Kidnappers in Paris, France abducted the father of a French cryptocurrency entrepreneur on May 4.
The attackers took him to Essonne, 35 miles away from the Paris street where they grabbed him, and cut off his finger. They made a video and sent it to his son, demanding 5 million euros in crypto. The victim’s son subsequently contacted police.
The victim was held for two days before French police were able to find and rescue him. According to CNN, five people were arrested in connection with the kidnapping.
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.
“Obviously, there’s at least a link in the modus operandi. Now, whether it’s the same team or not is for the investigators to say,” said internal security expert Guillaume Farde.
The rise in recent attacks has shaken the crypto industry. Ben Davis, co-founder and CEO at blockchain insurance firm Native, told Cointelegraph, “We used to see crypto wrench attacks predominantly happening when executives were abroad or traveling. However, high-profile cases like the kidnapping of Ledger’s co-founder show that attackers are now targeting individuals in their own homes, with more planning and precision than ever before.”
Authorities are responding to concerns as well. On May 16, the French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau met with cryptocurrency professionals to address the recent uptick in violent crime against industry figures.
For the foreseeable future, personal security, not just asset security, will be a defining theme of the crypto industry.
Additional reporting by Cath Jenkin
