As the value and popularity of cryptocurrencies have grown, so too has a concerning trend: digital currency crimes spilling over into real-world violence, ABC News reports.
Authorities in multiple countries are now reporting a surge in physical attacks, kidnappings, and extortion plots linked to the theft of cryptocurrency.
Recent high-profile cases highlight the shift. In New York, two individuals — John Woeltz and William Duplessie — were arrested on allegations of kidnapping and assault after a 28-year-old Italian man claimed he was held and tortured for weeks in an attempt to force him to reveal his Bitcoin password. Both men have declined to comment through legal counsel.
The New York case follows a growing list of violent incidents around the world. In Connecticut, a couple was carjacked, assaulted, and tied up in a van in what authorities describe as a ransom plot. Investigators allege the attackers were targeting the couple’s son, who is believed to have played a role in the theft of more than $240 million in Bitcoin. While the son has not been charged with that crime, he is currently being held on a separate federal misdemeanor offense.
In France, several incidents have made headlines. Attackers kidnapped the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, later sending graphic ransom videos, including one showing the severing of his finger. Police ultimately rescued the victim and arrested several suspects. In a separate case, masked men attempted to abduct the daughter of Pierre Noizat, CEO of French Bitcoin exchange Paymium. The attempt was thwarted by a nearby shopkeeper. Additionally, the co-founder of crypto wallet company Ledger and his wife were kidnapped and later rescued, with ten arrests made in that case.
These incidents come amid a broader rise in online financial crime. According to the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, nearly 860,000 complaints were filed last year, resulting in reported losses of $16.6 billion — a 33% increase from 2023. Cryptocurrency-related scams accounted for over $6.5 billion of those losses, making them the leading source of financial loss reported to the agency.
Experts say that while cryptocurrency theft is not new, the use of real-world violence to obtain access to digital assets represents an alarming evolution. John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin who researches financial crimes, believes that the high monetary stakes and the perception of limited enforcement are emboldening criminals.
“This kind of physical violence is a natural manifestation of the emboldened nature of crypto activities,” Griffin said. “Things that might clearly be outside of social norms in other spaces — like robbing a bank — are somehow just part of the game here.”
TRM Labs, a cryptocurrency analytics and tracing firm, suggests that the rise in violence is fueled by multiple factors: large sums of money, weak regulatory oversight, and the anonymity of many crypto transactions. The growing online visibility of wealthy crypto holders — many of whom display their wealth on social media — has made them easier targets.
Phil Ariss, TRM Labs’ director of UK public sector relations, emphasized that criminals are adapting traditional methods of robbery to the crypto era.
“As long as there’s a viable route to launder or liquidate stolen assets, it makes little difference to the offender whether the target is a high-value watch or a crypto wallet,” Ariss said.
