Can panic wallets stop a wrench? Why crypto’s next security debate is physical
In Val-d’Oise, France, a crypto entrepreneur’s father was kidnapped, adding to a growing list of over 225 verified physical attacks on digital asset holders. Jameson Lopp, Casa’s chief security officer, reports a 169% surge in such attacks in 2025, correlating with Bitcoin bull markets and OTC trading spikes. While not unique to crypto, these "wrench attacks" are driving innovation in "panic wallets" with duress triggers—features like balance wiping, decoy wallets, or biometric alerts. However, their effectiveness is unproven, and attackers often assume hidden funds even after compliance.
The US leads in absolute cases, but per-capita risk is higher in the UAE and Iceland. About 25% of incidents involve home invasions aided by leaked KYC data, while 23% are kidnappings. Two-thirds of attacks succeed, though 60% of perpetrators are caught.
Builders like Haven are creating biometric, multi-party custody systems to resist coercion, but Lopp warns that over-reliance on custodians risks centralizing Bitcoin and undermining its decentralized ethos. Ultimately, the best defense remains social discretion: avoiding public association with crypto holdings. The real vulnerability isn’t weak wallets—it’s being targeted in the first place.
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