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- The same public ledger that enables transparency in crypto often acts as a double-edged sword for some of its whales, who are identified and targeted by hackers, con artists, and other criminal elements
- Bloomberg is reporting a 75% increase in recorded physical attacks (also known as crypto wrench attacks) against cryptocurrency holders year-on-year in 2025
- Whales, crypto-related firms, and exchanges have responded by upping the ante on security protocols, increasing bodyguards, and even employing pre-emptive measures
Cryptocurrency executives and whales alike are increasingly being targeted by a mix of criminal elements worldwide, even as security continues to be beefed up to protect the not-so-anonymous owners of cryptocurrency.
The transparency introduced to the crypto world is putting some coin-collectors at risk of physical harm, and even kidnapping.
But many are also being outed by their lavish lifestyles, presence at crypto conferences, or, in some cases, leaked exchange data.
A high-ROI approach for criminals
Unlike most of their targets, criminals generally find crypto executives and enthusiasts to be easy pickings, especially when they flaunt a lavish lifestyle or talk volume at conferences, crypto meets, or even drum up their holdings online.
Given the unrecoverable nature of many of their holdings and the liquidity that they command, in addition to the ability to quickly move them across platforms, cryptocurrency-related physical attacks are on the rise, up a meteoric 75% as per a report by Bloomberg.
“The logic from the adversarial perspective of what the bad actors are seeing is — this is low risk, high ROI,” said Adam Healy, CEO of Station70, a US-based security company focused on digital asset protection, while speaking to Bloomberg, pointing out that if the funds are laundered correctly, it makes for an easy payday.
Some even play the long game, with a much more sophisticated attack on Drift, wiping an estimated $280 million from the derivatives exchange, in which hackers posed as a trading firm and even met staff at various conferences.
Beefed up security amid other measures
With crypto wrench attacks becoming increasingly mainstream, crypto exchanges have responded by doubling down on protection for their executives. Crypto exchange Gemini, for example, spent $5 million on security for its co-founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (also known as the Winklevoss twins).
Security protocols for individuals in similar situations are being established to provide greater protection. TRM’s Phil Ariss, the director of UK Public Sector Relations, stated: “Large, regulated exchanges and custodians are increasingly converging on something that looks very close to big‑bank practice for a small group of key personnel — think executive protection for a handful of individuals, secure travel protocols, hardened offices, and internal policies about home addresses and children’s schools not being publicly visible.”
Private crypto holders are also employing bodyguards, attending physical security-focused conferences, and even looking to invest in decoy wallets and time-delay locks, and to remove their cold-storage wallets from their day-to-day routines altogether.
Even with a recorded 75% YoY increase, the problem might be understated, with many silently paying ransoms, underreporting losses, or simply refusing to involve the authorities in what can often be a crime involving impossible-to-recover securities or additional perceived attention, which can be seen as painting a target on one's back.
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