Crypto investors lose over $16m as violent wrench attacks surge by 54%

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Hi! Eric here.

Physical attacks on crypto investors and their families have risen by a whooping 54% this year compared to last year.

Those attacks saw criminals steal over $16 million according to data from a crime tracker set up by Bitcoin developer Jameson Lopp and analysed by DL News.

This makes “2025 the highest year on record,” Ari Redbord, global head of policy at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, told DL News. TRM Labs tracked a similar amount of physical attacks.

Reports about these so-called wrench attacks make for grim reading. They include details of kidnappings, home invasions, threats, and torture. In several gruesome cases, criminals amputated victims’ fingers to get paid.

And it’s a global problem. Attacks are happening across the world, including in Brazil, France, Sweden, Norway, Canada, and Thailand.

The rise of these assaults marks the duality of the booming $4.3 trillion crypto market.

The visibility of that wealth is one of the factors that has driven the rise in violent crimes as it turn those bull run winners attractive targets for criminals, Redbord said.

Worse to come?

And the crime wave may loom even larger. Analysts anticipate that the rally will stretch well into next year.

“Given that there is a correlation between the rise in violent crimes and rising Bitcoin prices, it could be assumed that violent crimes would likely persist in a bull market,” a Chainalysis spokesperson told DL News.

To be sure, there are also signs that may alleviate some of the risk.

For instance, the introduction of crypto exchange-traded funds “means that people can participate in crypto without holding the underlying asset themselves,” the Chainalysis spokesperson said.

“Additionally, law enforcement has been quite effective at tracing stolen funds, arresting perpetrators and providing restitution to victims, although not always successful,” the spokesperson said.

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