A cryptocurrency investor known online as Sillytuna reported a theft of approximately $24 million through a violent “wrench attack.” Armed perpetrators used threats of kidnapping and sexual assault to force the victim to transfer his holdings. Blockchain analysis shows the stolen funds were quickly swapped into DAI and partially routed through privacy tools like Wagyu to purchase Monero.
A crypto holder known online as Sillytuna said attackers stole about $24 million worth of tokens after threatening him with violence during a real-world robbery. The incident has renewed concern about so-called “wrench attacks,” where perpetrators use physical threats instead of digital hacks.
In posts on X, Sillytuna said the theft involved armed attackers who threatened severe violence. “$24 million dollar theft of AUSD from 0x6fe0fab2164d8e0d03ad6a628e2af78624060322 Involved violence, weapons, kidnap and rape threats. Obvs police involved,” he tweeted.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham shared data showing the attackers took about $23.6 million in aEthUSDC. The firm’s analysis established that most funds were quickly converted into other tokens and spread across several wallets.
About $20 million was swapped into DAI and placed in two Ethereum addresses. The attackers also bridged smaller portions of the funds to other networks, including Arbitrum.
Roughly $2.48 million was transferred to the Arbitrum network, where the funds were routed through multiple Wagyu accounts. Those accounts were then used to purchase Monero, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
Arkham also reported that approximately $1.1 million was moved to the Bitcoin network through a bridging service. Part of that amount potentially went to a mixing service.
The victim offered a 10% bounty for any funds recovered and asked exchanges and investigators to help trace the transfers. Security researcher Tay Vano flagged multiple addresses connected to the theft.
PerpetualCow, the developer behind Wagyu, later responded, saying the platform does not freeze user funds as a matter of policy. However, they claimed compliance systems eventually flagged the suspicious transactions.
Sillytuna’s case is part of a documented increase in wrench attacks. Well-known incidents include the January 2025 kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland from his home in France.
In another case, a U.S. resident visiting London was drugged and lost approximately $122,000 in crypto. He was tricked into smoking a cigarette laced with scopolamine.
