Physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders reached a record high in 2025, according to a new report from blockchain security firm CertiK. The firm verified 72 “wrench attacks” globally last year, a 75% increase from 2024, with confirmed financial losses exceeding $40.9 million. Europe, led by France, became the primary hotspot, accounting for 40% of all incidents.
Violent kidnappings, torture, and home invasions targeting cryptocurrency holders surged worldwide to a new high in 2025. A new report from CertiK warns that “violence is no longer an edge case, but a structural risk of digital asset ownership.”
The 72 verified crypto wrench attacks marked “a clear inflection point” where physical coercion became a core threat vector. Confirmed financial losses in 2025 exceeded $40.9 million, up 44% year over year, with kidnapping the most common attack method.
Europe accounted for over 40% of global incidents in 2025, up from just 22% in 2024. France emerged as the epicenter, recording 19 attacks throughout the year and surpassing the United States, which saw eight incidents.
A public database maintained by Jameson Lopp, CTO of security firm Casa, shows that seven of nine documented wrench-attack incidents this year occurred in France. “What we are really seeing is just the tip of the iceberg. Crypto crime is indeed heavily underreported, and that is not accidental,” cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek previously stated.
Last June, French prosecutors charged a tax official with allegedly passing crypto investors’ details to organized crime groups. The year’s major incidents included the January 2025 kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife in France, where attackers severed his finger and demanded roughly $10.7 million in crypto.
CertiK‘s report outlined defense strategies to reduce vulnerability and coercion effectiveness. The firm recommends individuals maintain decoy wallets and minimize their public crypto footprint to protect themselves.
