A recent and brutal crime in Spain has cast a stark light on a growing danger in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Spanish police, in coordination with Danish authorities, dismantled a criminal network linked to the kidnapping and murder of a man in Málaga. The assailants assaulted a couple, held them for hours, and attempted to force access to their digital wallets to steal cryptocurrency. Tragically, the man was later found dead. This case is a severe example of a “wrench attack”—a form of physical violence used to coerce victims into surrendering their crypto assets.
Understanding the “Wrench Attack”
The term originates from a satirical comic but describes a very real threat. Unlike digital hacks, a wrench attack bypasses all cryptographic security by targeting the individual holder through physical force or intimidation. As one security executive noted, these are not random acts but deliberate operations where criminals profile their targets, often by scouring social media for individuals who publicly discuss their crypto wealth. The goal is immediate access, compelling victims under duress to transfer funds or reveal private keys and seed phrases.
A Disturbing and Escalating Trend
The Spanish incident is part of a sharp global upswing in physical crypto crimes. Security firm Casa has tracked at least 66 such assaults in 2025 alone. Analysis from Chainalysis indicates 2025 is on track to have potentially twice as many physical attacks as the previous highest year on record. High-profile cases have occurred worldwide, including the kidnapping of a Ledger co-founder in France and a violent home-invasion ring in the United States that resulted in a 47-year prison sentence for its leader. This trend suggests that as crypto values rise and security on exchanges improves, criminals are shifting tactics to target individual holders directly.
Implications for Compliance and Institutional holders
For institutional participants, treasury managers, and compliance teams, this trend changes the risk calculus. It underscores that security must extend beyond cyber-defense to include physical and operational security (OpSec) protocols. The irreversible nature of blockchain transactions, combined with the trauma of violence, creates a high-stakes environment. This will likely lead to intensified know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks, especially for large or rapid withdrawals, as exchanges and custodians seek to flag potential coercion. Furthermore, the immutable public ledger of blockchain, while a challenge, also aids law enforcement. Specialized forensics firms can trace stolen funds, leading to seizures and arrests, as demonstrated in numerous cases.
Fortifying Defenses in a New Threat Landscape
Protecting against this threat requires a layered approach focused on privacy and distributed control. The most critical step is maintaining a low profile by avoiding public disclosure of holdings. Technologically, using multi-signature (multisig) wallets can serve as a powerful deterrent. By requiring authorization from two or more private keys stored in separate locations, a single individual under duress cannot unilaterally move funds. Other advanced solutions include multi-party computation (MPC) and decentralized seed phrase storage, which eliminate any single point of failure.
The message from law enforcement and security experts is clear: as digital asset ownership grows, so does the need for personal vigilance. The promise of self-custody comes with the profound responsibility of securing not just digital keys, but one’s physical person. For the ecosystem to mature, integrating sophisticated technical safeguards with disciplined personal privacy will be essential to deterring those who would use a wrench instead of a computer to steal.
