CustodyStress
Archive › Physical coercion
Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents

Physical coercion

Cases in this category involve custody arrangements that came under physical or behavioral coercion. Outcomes depend on whether structural protections — geographic key separation, multisig thresholds, or time-delay mechanisms — existed.

Coercion cases reveal a structural tension between custody security and custody survivability under threat. Setups that protect against unauthorized access — passphrases held in memory, keys distributed geographically — can also protect an attacker from being forced to act. Cases where coercion was resisted structurally involve multisig thresholds that cannot be met from a single location, or keys distributed across jurisdictions beyond immediate physical reach.

105 observed cases
Blocked
63 (60%)
Constrained
38 (36%)
Survives
1 (1%)
Indeterminate
3 (3%)
A Turkish national who had travelled to Hong Kong to conduct a cryptocurrency OTC trade
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2025
In March 2025, a Turkish national who had travelled to Hong Kong to conduct a cryptocurrency OTC trade involving €5 million in cash was attacked at knifepoint n
The analysis noted that attacks were no longer the exclusive domain of
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
A comprehensive year-end analysis by TRM Labs described 2025 as 'a record year for wrench attacks' with approximately 60 documented physical assaults on cryptoc
Europe accounted for over 40% of global incidents, with France alone recording 19
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
CertiK's 2025 Wrench Attack Report documented 72 verified physical coercion incidents targeting cryptocurrency holders worldwide—a 75% increase over the 41 inci
The case was cited by CertiK's 2025 Wrench Attack Report as one of the year's most
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2025
In late 2025, Russian cryptocurrency figure Roman Novak and his wife were murdered in Dubai after being lured to a villa in the Hatta region by men posing as po
His body was found in the burned car in Vienna's Donaustadt district.
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2025
On approximately November 26, 2025, Danylo Kuzmin—a 21-year-old Ukrainian student and son of the deputy mayor of Kharkiv—was murdered in Vienna in a targeted cr
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
A Ugandan Bitcoin holder was kidnapped near Kampala in May 2025 by five armed individuals, some dressed in military-style uniforms, who surrounded his car and a
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
A 2025 analysis by Chainalysis found a statistically significant correlation between Bitcoin price movements and the frequency of physical wrench attacks, sugge
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
A 2025 Bloomberg Businessweek investigation into crypto wrench attacks found that the demographic profile of victims had shifted substantially from 2021 to 2025
French police arrested a 24-year-old French-Moroccan national in Tangier, Morocco
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
In June 2025, French police arrested a 24-year-old French-Moroccan national in Tangier, Morocco following an Interpol red notice. He was identified by French ou
The 58-hour ordeal ended when French police rescued him in a raid.
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
In May 2025, the father of a man who operated a Malta-based cryptocurrency company was abducted from a Paris street by four hooded men. The victim had one of hi
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
Beginning May 6, 2025, Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, a 28-year-old Italian cryptocurrency trader, was held captive for approximately 17 days in a luxury
The disclosure confirmed earlier CBC reporting that the ransom paid was approximately
Exchange custody
Constrained 2025
In April 2025, WonderFi—Canada's largest regulated cryptocurrency exchange—disclosed that it had incurred $3.6 million CAD in total costs in Q4 2024 related to
A magistrate and her mother were abducted and held for 30 hours in the Drôme region of
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
In early 2025, a magistrate and her mother were abducted and held for 30 hours in the Drôme region of France. The magistrate's partner held a leadership role at
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2025
Two Texas brothers, Raymond Christian Garcia and Isiah Angelo Garcia, were charged by federal officials in September 2025 with kidnapping after allegedly holdin
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2025
A Brazilian Bitcoin holder's family member was kidnapped in April 2025 and held for ransom payable in Bitcoin. The kidnappers specified the ransom must be paid
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau met with cryptocurrency industry leaders in May 2025 following the wave of kidnappings targeting crypto executives and
Physical coercion — hardware wallet (2025)
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2025
In the aftermath of the January 2025 Ledger co-founder kidnapping, French authorities arrested 10 people aged 20–40, most of whom had prior criminal records. Th
The 2024 attacks ranged across multiple continents and included home invasions
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2024
Jameson Lopp's database of known physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders documented 24 incidents in 2024—a marked increase from 18 in 2023 and the second-hig
Sheffield Crown Court sentenced a trio for the robbery on 18 November 2024.
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2024
A 2024 case that surfaced in November 2024 after perpetrators were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court involved attackers who had used a leaked database linking
He fled to Hong Kong on 1 May 2024 but was arrested on return to Canada on 25 July 2024
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2024
The April 2024 Port Moody home invasion was extensively pre-planned: the gang had placed surveillance cameras outside the family's home in the days beforehand.
The gang ultimately drained approximately $2 million from the family's accounts
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2024
On the evening of 27 April 2024, four masked attackers disguised as Canada Post delivery workers gained entry to the Port Moody, British Columbia home of a Bitc
A former Los Angeles Police Department officer was convicted by jury for physically
Hardware wallet (single key)
Blocked 2024
In late 2024, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer was convicted by jury for physically coercing cryptocurrency holders into transferring approximatel
This targeting of family members foreshadowed the much higher-profile Ledger founder
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2024
In late 2024, French police investigated a series of physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders and their family members in Paris and surrounding regions
Thai police arrested five Russian men in Phuket following the kidnapping of
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2024
In February 2024, Thai police arrested five Russian men in Phuket following the kidnapping of a Belarusian couple. The suspects had abducted the couple and comp
Two women were arrested in Hong Kong for allegedly kidnapping a three-year-old child
Hardware wallet (single key)
Constrained 2024
In July 2024, two women were arrested in Hong Kong for allegedly kidnapping a three-year-old child and demanding a ransom of over HK$5 million in cryptocurrency
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Other stress categories
Terms guide
Survives
Access remained possible under the reported conditions.
Constrained
Access remained possible, but only with delay, dependence, or significant difficulty.
Blocked
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Indeterminate
There was not enough information to determine the outcome.
Single-person knowledge
Recovery depended on information or capability held by one individual who was unavailable.
Institutional dependence
Recovery depended on a third-party institution or service that was inaccessible or uncooperative.
Documentation gap
Recovery depended on instructions that were missing, incomplete, or unclear.
Authority mismatch
The person with legal authority to act did not have operational access, or vice versa.
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