As crypto assets surge in popularity and value, so too does a troubling trend: real-world violence tied to digital wealth.
In recent weeks, reports from both Europe and the United States revealed how physical threats and high-stakes cybercrime continue to intersect, from wrench attacks in the streets of Paris to courtroom drama surrounding a teenage hacker accused of stealing hundreds of millions in Bitcoin.
Let’s dive into it!
10th 'wrench attack' in France targets young crypto holder
Last Tuesday, French media reported that a 23-year-old man was kidnapped in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb just outside Paris, in the country’s 10th crypto-related wrench attack this year.
The victim was reportedly abducted while running errands, assaulted, and forced to call his partner to deliver both a Ledger hardware wallet and €5,000 in cash.
He was later released in the nearby town of Créteil.
The incident is the latest data point in a growing trend tracked by cypherpunk Jameson Lopp, who maintains an open-source global map of wrench attacks, instances where victims are physically coerced into giving up access to crypto wallets.
France now accounts for nearly a third of all such attacks reported in 2025, putting it on pace to surpass the previous high set in 2021.
Earlier this year, high-profile figures like Ledger co-founder David Balland and Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat’s family were also targeted.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has since pledged to work with crypto leaders on safety initiatives. These physical threats tend to spike during bull markets, as on-chain wealth becomes a visible target for offline crime.
U.S. teen in Bitcoin theft loses bond after new $2M alleged scam
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, newly unsealed court documents revealed that 19-year-old Veer Chetal, previously charged in a $245 million Bitcoin heist, was re-arrested after allegedly committing an additional $2 million social engineering scam while out on bond.
The original theft, which involved assets from a Genesis creditor, occurred in August 2024.
Chetal, also known online as “Wiz,” had agreed to cooperate with authorities against co-defendants after pleading guilty to fraud and laundering conspiracy charges.
But prosecutors say he violated court terms by orchestrating a phishing scam posing as a Gemini support rep and then losing $200,000 on a gambling site minutes after acquiring it.
The Department of Justice noted that Chetal was considering fleeing the country and had no legal ties to the U.S. His arrest followed a failed kidnapping attempt against his parents in 2024, linked to the original theft.
That conspiracy, involving six masked attackers and an alleged orchestrator based in Georgia, has so far yielded one conviction and several guilty pleas, with more sentencing scheduled later this year.
