Executives of the Paris-based crypto wallet firm Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. In 2024, there were 24 such attacks. In 2025, there were eight in January alone. That’s according to a running chronology maintained by Jameson Lopp, a famous early Bitcoiner, who in 2017 was attacked himself when criminals called in a SWAT raid of his home in a bid to extort him. The true number of overall violent crypto attacks is likely much higher than what Lopp has cited, given that some victims will be reluctant to report them.
The violence highlights a popular misperception about crypto. While thefts due to hacking are still widespread, blockchain technology—especially in the case of Bitcoin—is highly secure. The reality is, it is nearly impossible to hack someone who has taken the right precautions. But even if a criminal can’t steal crypto by means of a cyberattack, they can do so through old-fashioned physical coercion. Such attacks are made easier because the crooks don’t have to carry or transport the stolen goods, but can simply force the victim to enter a passcode and whisk their crypto fortune to an overseas wallet.
