Alena Vranova, founder of SatoshiLabs, has raised serious concerns over the growing wave of “wrench attacks” — incidents involving physical assaults, kidnappings, and extortion aimed at stealing crypto private keys. Speaking at the Baltic Honeybadger 2025 conference in Riga, Latvia, she revealed that such attacks have become alarmingly common. “Every week, there is a Bitcoiner, at least one in the world, who gets kidnapped, tortured, extorted, and sometimes even worse,” Vranova told attendees. She stressed that these crimes are not confined to high-profile investors or early Bitcoin adopters . Even relatively small holders have seen troubles, with cases involving as little as $6,000 worth of crypto. In some tragic instances, criminals have killed people for $50,000 in digital assets. Crypto Data Breaches Fuel Criminal Targeting Vranova warned that 2025 is on track to see twice as many physical attacks against Bitcoin holders as the worst year on record. This is driven in part by large-scale data leaks from centralized exchanges and service providers. Such platforms often store sensitive user data under Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, making their databases prime targets for criminals. She revealed that over 80 million crypto user identities have been leaked online, with 2.2 million records containing home addresses. This allows attackers to locate victims and plan targeted assaults. These incidents often increase during bull markets when investor holdings are perceived to be more valuable. High-profile breaches have worsened the situation. In May, Coinbase disclosed a breach affecting many of its customers , exposing addresses and personal details. The following month, Cybernews reported databases containing more than 16 billion stolen login credentials from platforms such as Apple, Facebook, and Google — further expanding the pool of potential victims. From Phishing to Physical Violence The stolen data poses multiple threats to crypto holders. Beyond physical attacks, leaked information increases exposure to phishing campaigns, social engineering attempts, hacking, and identity theft. Criminals are using a mix of digital and physical methods to separate individuals from their funds. Industry experts are now urging investors to adopt stronger privacy practices, limit the amount of personal information shared with centralized services, and use secure storage methods that cannot be easily compromised under duress. The post Bitcoin Security Expert Warns of Rising Physical Attacks on Crypto Holders appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
