Physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders have resulted in more than $30 million in losses during the first half of 2026, with home invasions becoming the most common method and France accounting for a disproportionate share of incidents. The trend puts 2026 on track to become the worst year on record for violent crypto thefts.
Blockchain security firm CertiK recorded 52 verified physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders in the first half of 2026, a 33.3% increase from 39 incidents a year earlier. Recorded financial exposure, including ransom demands and stolen funds, rose to $124.1 million from $10.5 million.
The DOJ charged Bulgarian national Rossen Iossifov, currently serving 111 months for fraud, with conspiring to move approximately $290,000 in cryptocurrency that had been seized and forfeited to the US government.
A French-Moroccan man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for organizing multiple high-profile kidnappings of crypto figures in France, marking one of the most severe sentences in crypto-related violent crime.
A federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted three Tennessee men on charges including conspiracy to commit robbery and kidnapping after allegedly posing as delivery drivers to steal cryptocurrency in a series of violent attacks across California, including one incident where a victim was forced at gunpoint to surrender $6.5 million.
Blockchain security firm CertiK projects that 2026 will close with approximately 130 crypto wrench attacks (physical violence against digital asset holders), calling it a significantly underreported phenomenon with hundreds of millions in potential losses.
French prosecutors charged 88 people linked to at least 12 crypto-related physical attacks ('wrench attacks') targeting cryptocurrency holders. France has recorded 135 crypto-linked incidents since 2023, with authorities urging crypto holders to avoid extensive social media exposure.
