An increase in violent crimes targeting Bitcoin owners breaks a new alarm of safety experts and industrial groups.
According to speakers from the Baltic Honeybadger 2025 conference in Riga, in Latvia, criminals are increasingly using personal data stolen, plus a chain analysis to find and attack people who hold bitcoin and other digital assets.
Attacks – often called “key attacks” – may include removal, physical assault and extortion to force victims to hand over private keys.
Each week, at least one Bitcoin holder would be kidnapped, tortured, extorted or worse, conference sources.
Criminal targeting fuel leak
According to Alena Vranova, founder of the Satoshilabs material portfolio manufacturer, more than 80 million identities of cryptographic users are exposed online, and around 2.2 million of these files include personal addresses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2tjuq1twys
Based on Chainalysis reports, the number of attacks in 2025 has already almost equaled the worst year never recorded and could double by the end of the year if the trends are continuing.
US Exchange Coinbase confirmed in May 2025 that the names and addresses of certain customers had been exhibited in a hack, and Cybernews reported databases containing more than 16 billion identification stolen from large technological companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google.
Criminals work faster and smarter
The reports have revealed that the attackers combine KYC data disclosed with blockchain analysis tools to identify high -value targets. Once a potential victim is identified, criminals can launch phishing campaigns, carry out SIM exchange attacks or degenerate physical violence to obtain private keys.
The cases mentioned at the conference include kidnapping on amounts as small as $ 6,000 in crypto and murders linked to around $ 50,000, undercoating the assumption that only the richest holders are in danger.
While more and more people enter the market during the Bull Run, the organizers warn that less experienced investors can become easy brands.
Security measures go from digital to
Based on the industry’s response, many high -level holders stimulate physical security, hiring private guards and take measures to obscure their public cryptography profiles.
Every day investors are also invited to adopt better operational security: using non-guardian portfolios, allowing multi-factory authentication that is not based on SMS, uses unique passwords and password managers, divided assets on several secure locations and avoid publicly talking about the size of the securities of its assets.
Experts point out that no step is infallible; A layer approach that separates the key material and limits the amount to which a person can access is recommended.
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