A senior executive in the cryptocurrency sector is raising alarms about the increasing dangers facing Bitcoin holders. Alena Vranova, the founder of SatoshiLabs, speaking at the Baltic Honeybadger 2025 conference in Riga, Latvia, stated that "at least one Bitcoiner gets kidnapped every week". Vranova highlighted the rise of "wrench attacks," which include physical assaults, kidnappings, and extortion attempts targeting people who possess private keys or significant crypto assets.

These attacks, according to Vranova, are not limited to wealthy investors or early Bitcoin adopters. Even small investors are vulnerable, with kidnappings linked to crypto holdings as low as $6,000 and murders over $50,000 in digital assets. She pointed out that the frequency of these incidents seems to increase during bull markets, implying a direct link between Bitcoin's price and physical threats against its holders. Bitcoin's price has been volatile recently, reaching a peak of $123,000 before cooling down to trade around $116,000 - $118,000. Currently, Bitcoin is priced at $119,111.

Data breaches from centralized crypto platforms exacerbate the growing prevalence of wrench attacks. Vranova revealed that over 80 million Bitcoin and crypto user identities have been leaked online, with 2.2 million including home addresses. According to her, these leaks enable criminals to identify and target victims with greater accuracy. The interconnectedness of personal and digital identity further amplifies the risks, with compromised data potentially leading to phishing, social engineering, and identity theft.

A recent example of such a breach occurred in May when the crypto exchange Coinbase disclosed that a subset of customer data, including home addresses, had been exposed. Furthermore, a Cybernews report in June uncovered databases containing over 16 billion leaked login credentials from major platforms.

Vranova urged crypto holders, regardless of the size of their holdings, to take proactive safety measures to avoid becoming victims of violent attacks. As the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continues to fluctuate and adoption grows, the need for heightened security and awareness among crypto users is more critical than ever.