Crypto Assets violent robbery cases surge: Six attacks against investors

Source: Cointelegraph Original: "Surge in Cryptocurrency Violent Robbery Cases: Six Attacks Targeting Investors"

With the popularity of cryptocurrencies and the rise in value, some criminals have begun to resort to violent means to steal funds from well-known cryptocurrency holders.

Jameson Lopp's GitHub repository records show that there were 22 '$5 wrench' attacks against cryptocurrency holders in 2025 alone. This term derives from the brute force methods used by criminals to coerce cryptocurrency holders into surrendering their digital assets.

In most cases, local law enforcement agencies are able to intervene in a timely manner before victims are injured and suffer financial losses. However, there is a rising trend in violent and successful attack incidents, some of which have resulted in permanent injury or even death.

A recent incident in Paris, France, prompted the French Ministry of the Interior to hold a special meeting to address this increasingly severe trend. Below are the seven most impactful attacks that 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 forcibly taken into a car and subsequently held in different locations.

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the kidnappers contacted a Ledger executive to demand a large amount of cryptocurrency to be paid as a ransom. The criminals reportedly brutally wounded Balland's hand and sent photos to Ledger to exert pressure.

After Ledger reported to the authorities, about 230 police officers were involved in the search and rescue operation. Police managed to locate and rescue David on January 22 in Châteauroux, 30 miles southwest of his residence. The next day, through the interrogation of the arrested suspects and the analysis of phone records, the police managed to rescue Amandine in Étampes (80 miles north of Vierzon).

A small amount of ransom has been paid. Beccuau stated that these funds were frozen and tracked, ultimately 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.

在2024年11月，Kick主播和角色扮演者Kaitlyn Siragusa，职业名为“Amouranth”，在X上发布了她的加密钱包截图。它持有约2000万美元的比特币(BTC)和80,000美元的以太坊(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 gunpont. 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 hooded individuals dressed entirely in black. They were attempting to kidnap him. A man suddenly appeared, extinguisher in hand, to scare them away. → 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