Physical assaults aimed at stealing cryptocurrency are becoming more common and increasingly severe, according to a new analysis of so-called “wrench attacks.”
In a post on X, crypto investor Haseeb Qureshi reviewed a dataset compiled by Bitcoin (BTC) security advocate Jameson Lopp, who has spent years documenting cases where criminals use threats or violence to force victims to hand over digital assets. The records, considered one of the most extensive public logs of such incidents, show a steady rise in reported attacks over time.
Qureshi categorized each incident into five levels, from minor assaults to fatal attacks. His analysis indicates that not only have wrench attacks increased in number, but the average incident has also become more violent in recent years.
Geographically, Western Europe and parts of the Asia-Pacific region have seen the sharpest increase in reported cases, while North America remains relatively safer by comparison. Nonetheless, incidents in North America have also risen in absolute terms.
Price appears to be a key driver. When violent incidents are plotted against total cryptocurrency market capitalization, attacks tend to rise alongside valuations. Qureshi said a simple regression suggests that about 45% of the variation in attack frequency can be explained by market cap alone, reinforcing the idea that higher prices attract more criminal activity.
At the same time, the data challenges the notion that owning crypto is inherently more dangerous today. When adjusted for user growth, the risk picture changes: global crypto adoption has surged over the past decade, but violent incidents have not climbed at the same rate. On a per-user or per-dollar basis, crypto holders were at higher relative risk in 2015 and 2018 than they are now.
“With all of this said, this is more than just an intellectual exercise. This is serious shit. Remember that there’s a lot you can do to invest in your own personal security if you’re high-risk,” Qureshi wrote, urging individuals with significant holdings to take precautions.
The findings come as other forms of crypto-related crime show signs of shifting. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, phishing schemes linked to wallet drainer tools declined sharply in 2025. Losses fell to about $83.85 million, down 83% from nearly $494 million in 2024, according to Web3 security firm Scam Sniffer. The number of victims dropped 68% year over year to roughly 106,000.
Despite the improvement, Scam Sniffer cautioned that phishing remains closely tied to market cycles. Losses spiked during periods of heavy onchain activity, particularly in the third quarter of 2025, which coincided with a strong rally in Ether (ETH) and accounted for $31 million in losses.
Taken together, the trends underscore how crypto crime is evolving: while some online threats, such as wallet drainers, have receded, physical coercion and targeted attacks against high-value holders appear to be intensifying.