Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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A San Francisco resident was robbed of $11 million in cryptocurrency after a thief posing as a supply driver pressured his manner into a house and carried out a violent early-morning assault, marking one of many largest recognized particular person crypto robberies in the USA this 12 months.
In keeping with a San Francisco police report, the theft passed off round 6:45 a.m. Saturday close to 18th and Dolores streets within the Mission Dolores neighborhood.
Police haven’t confirmed whether or not the sufferer was injured, and no arrests have been introduced. Makes an attempt to contact the house owner listed in public data had been unsuccessful.
Bodily Assaults on Crypto Traders Hit Document Ranges, Up 169% in 2025
The incident provides to what specialists describe as a quickly escalating wave of “wrench assaults,” a time period used to explain bodily assaults, kidnappings, and coercion aimed toward forcing crypto holders to disclose passwords or switch funds.
The identify comes from a well known webcomic illustrating that even robust digital safety will be defeated with a $5 wrench, as attackers shift from hacking wallets to focusing on their house owners immediately.
In keeping with a CryptoNews report in September citing information compiled by Bitcoin safety advocate Jameson Lopp, there was a pointy rise in bodily assaults focusing on crypto holders, climbing 169% since February, with 48 instances logged in 2025.
Nevertheless, Lopp has now tracked greater than 60 wrench-style incidents this 12 months, already 33% larger than the entire for 2024.
France leads with 14 reported instances, however comparable assaults have been documented throughout North America, Europe, and Australia, highlighting a rising world safety concern.
Safety researchers say the rise coincides with ongoing market energy, which has pushed Bitcoin and different property larger and made personal holders extra helpful targets.
The assaults have grown extra violent, with criminals typically utilizing faux supply uniforms, social engineering, and pre-attack intelligence gathering to establish victims.
In some instances, attackers examine social media posts, public data, or convention appearances to estimate an individual’s crypto wealth.
French Police Warn of Coordinated Crime Rings Behind Crypto Kidnappings
Comparable patterns have emerged in U.S. cities. In New York, an Italian vacationer was kidnapped and tortured for greater than two weeks as captors tried to extract his Bitcoin credentials, resulting in an inside investigation involving two NYPD officers.
In Chicago, six males had been charged after allegedly kidnapping 4 residents and coercing them into transferring $15 million in cryptocurrency.
The violence has been most concentrated in France, the place coordinated felony networks repeatedly goal entrepreneurs, merchants, and their households.
In August, a 35-year-old former dealer was kidnapped and held captive between Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye after his captors did not extract a €10,000 ransom.
He was discovered wandering residence with seen accidents after a name for assist reached authorities overseas. Police say the case was the tenth crypto-related kidnapping reported in France in current months.
Past bodily assaults, crypto holders have additionally confronted a surge in digital theft. A report from safety agency CertiK discovered that traders misplaced $2.47 billion to hacks, scams, and safety breaches within the first half of 2025 alone.
Analysts warn that as digital defenses enhance, criminals typically flip to bodily coercion as an alternative, contributing to the rise in wrench assaults.
Lopp, who started monitoring these incidents after a 2017 SWATing assault focusing on him, stated the spike is an indication of a shifting safety panorama.
He famous that rising asset values entice extra criminals however added that self-custody instruments and greatest practices have additionally developed.
He suggested crypto customers to keep away from publicizing their holdings, perceive fundamental operational safety, and contemplate mixing self-custody with custodial companies relying on private threat.
