As cryptocurrency becomes increasingly mainstream, there is concern that wealthy crypto holders are facing an increased risk of physical attacks.

Last week crypto tracing firm TRM Labs in a blog post warned crypto holders of a “disturbing trend has emerged: the physical targeting of individuals associated with cryptocurrency wealth.”

TRM Labs was referring to so called “wrench attacks” which it said “have escalated in both frequency and severity, and they’re happening all over the world.”

Wrench attacks

So called “wrench attacks are situations where an assailant uses a wrench to coerce someone into revealing their crypto keys.

The term actually originates from a web comic that shows regardless of sophisticated encryption, an attacker could simply threaten someone with a wrench to obtain their password. In the crypto context, this translates to criminals bypassing digital security by targeting individuals directly, often through physical violence or threats of violence.

The Associated Press noted the recent case in New York, where a 28-year old Italian man who was also a crypto investor, was allegedly kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse by captors seeking his bitcoin password.

According to authorities, for weeks the victim was beaten, shocked, and led to believe that his family was in danger if he didn’t give up his bitcoin password.

At one point the attackers even allegedly carried the victim to the top of a flight of stairs where they dangled him over a ledge and threatened to kill him if he didn’t share his bitcoin password.

AP reported that John Woeltz, 37, was arrested Friday night after the victim escaped from the eight-bedroom town house and flagged down a traffic officer on the street for help.

Woeltz was arraigned Saturday on charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful imprisonment and criminal possession of a firearm, court records show. He was reportedly ordered held without bail, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney’s office confirmed Saturday.

“Unlike cyberattacks, these assaults exploit the vulnerabilities of human behaviour and physical security, bypassing even the most robust digital safeguards,” warned TRM Labs. “Whether a street robbery, a burglary, or a kidnap, these offences share a distinct commonality: high levels of violence that are extremely traumatic for the victims to endure.”

Worldwide attacks

And the New York case is not the only high profile so called “wrench attack”.

TRM Labs points to a recent case in France, when on 13 May 2025 the daughter and grandson of a prominent cryptocurrency CEO were attacked. Three masked assailants attempted to force the woman and her child into a van at gunpoint. Thankfully, the child’s father and bystanders intervened – the gun was dropped and the assailants were forced to retreat.

Earlier this May the father of a crypto entrepreneur was abducted in Paris, TRM Labs wrote. The kidnappers demanded a ransom between €5 million and €7 million (£4.2m to £5.9m), severing one of the victim’s fingers to pressure compliance. French police rescued the victim after 58 hours, arresting five suspects.

Another case (also in France) in January 2025 saw David Balland (co-founder of the crypto wallet company Ledger) and his partner were kidnapped from their home in central France. The attackers reportedly demanded a €10 million (£8.4m)) ransom, severing one of Balland’s fingers as leverage. Both victims were rescued, and several suspects were arrested.

TRM Labs also noted that back in the US in July 2024, Marlon Ferro, a member of the criminal enterprise, allegedly travelled to New Mexico to break into a victim’s home in order to steal a hardware virtual currency wallet.

And in September 2024 a New York judge sentenced Gilbert St. Felix to 47 years in prison – the longest sentence ever handed down in a US case involving cryptocurrencies – after he was convicted of leading a violent home-invasion ring that targeted crypto holders.

TRM Labs also noted that wrench attacks in the United Kingdom date back to 2018, where in one of the UK’s first reported crypto-related home invasions, four armed men broke into the residence of cryptocurrency trader Danny Aston in Moulsford, Oxfordshire. They tied up his partner and forced Aston at gunpoint to transfer an undisclosed amount of bitcoin.

Other wrench attacks have taken place in Canada as well, which according to TRM Labs has seen a “sharp rise” in such attacks.

Preventative measures

“One factor that should not be overlooked when it comes to wrench attacks is that, at its core, it’s a natural evolution of criminal behaviour,” said Phil Ariss (Director, UK Public Sector Relations at TRM Labs).

“Criminal groups already comfortable with using violence to achieve their goals were always likely to migrate to crypto,” Ariss warned. “As long as there’s a viable route to launder or liquidate stolen assets, it makes little difference to the offender whether the target is a high-value watch or a crypto wallet. Cryptocurrency is now firmly in the mainstream, and as a result, our traditional understanding of physical threat and robbery needs to evolve accordingly.”

So what preventative measures can individuals take against wrench attacks?

“While every case is different, a strong common thread in many wrench attacks is the profiling of victims prior to the offense,” Ariss explained. “Criminals are increasingly using social media to build detailed assessments of potential targets – particularly focusing on indicators of wealth. This is especially true for individuals involved in peer-to-peer crypto trades or those who are overt about their holdings and lifestyle. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and other short-form video content apps are frequently exploited for malicious purposes once a likely ‘mark’ has been identified.”

Protective measures that crypto holders can take include maintaining privacy (don’t disclose crypto holdings); strengthening physical security (robust home defence and security); utilising multi-signature wallets (multiple approvals makes it much harder for coercion alone to succeed); and educating family members about risks and staying alert.