According to Chainalysis, Bitcoin “wrench attacks”—violent cryptocurrency thefts involving physical force or intimidation—are poised to reach their highest incidence in 2025, driven by the cryptocurrency’s soaring market value.
“Wrench Attacks”: Rise in Physical Threats
“Wrench attacks” occur when criminals force victims to surrender cryptocurrency through physical violence or intimidation. As of July 2025, Chainalysis reports 35 such incidents documented, forecasting this figure could surpass any previous year on record, potentially doubling the next highest total.
Jameson Lopp, a self-custodial firm co-founder, identified 2021’s bull market peak as the worst year on record for these attacks, with a total of 36 documented cases.
A Chainalysis spokesperson told Cointelegraph that since 2023, a marked increase in violent crimes linked to crypto holdings has been observed, including kidnappings, ransom demands, home invasions, and extortions against private holders. Factors cited include Bitcoin’s increasing price, crypto’s perceived anonymity and liquidity, public visibility of wealth, and involvement of traditional organized crime.
Price and Factors Fueling Attacks
Chainalysis attributes partly to the rising Bitcoin price—including multiple all-time highs surpassing $122,000 in 2025—the increased frequency of physical attacks against known crypto holders, according to Nansen data.
The spokesperson detailed multiple drivers: “The perceived anonymity and liquidity of crypto, increased public visibility of wealth, and the growing involvement of traditional organized crime networks…[all underlie the] rapid appreciation in price associated with assets such as Bitcoin.”
Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin speculated at a May 2025 crypto conference that kidnapping of crypto holders, based on the false assumption that crypto isn’t traceable, is possible.
Factors Deterring Future Attacks?
While Chainalysis notes the correlation between Bitcoin price peaks and violent crime and anticipates attacks persisting in bull markets (“As with any crime, it is tough to predict its future trends”), factors could curb them:
- Structured Market Products: Widespread adoption of crypto ETFs and ETNs, allowing investment without direct asset holding.
- Blockchain Transparency: The traceability of stolen funds and ability to freeze stablecoin transactions.
- Law Enforcement Activity: Continued police actions could act as a deterrent.
“Hopefully, this traceability and potential freezability, when coupled with consistent law enforcement action, means illicit actors will realize harming people and stealing crypto is not effective.”
Estimating the True Toll
While Lopp’s dataset tracks attacks from 2014 (including the initial attempt on Hal Finney), the Chainalysis spokesperson acknowledged the challenge in definitively knowing the annual count:
“Reported cases might also be handled locally without much additional publicity, which means the case would go unreported in a dataset of public incidents.”
The analysis reminds readers that, “these cases remain comparatively rare,” yet the organized violence poses a significant threat correlated with market booms.
Related: French police make more arrests in crypto kidnapping case
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