At Least One Bitcoin Investor Is Kidnapped for Ransom Every Week - Hot Warning for 2025.
The cryptocurrency market in 2025 is witnessing a new and increasingly serious danger: Bitcoin investor kidnappings for ransom. According to a warning from Alena Vranova, founder of SatoshiLabs - the parent company of Trezor Cold Storage - the frequency of such incidents has reached an alarming level. Notably, not only "whales" with massive Bitcoin holdings are targeted, but even small investors are becoming targets. In reality, many kidnappings are aimed at stealing cryptocurrencies worth around 6,000 USD, but there are also more serious cases leading to murder for crypto assets worth around 50,000 USD.
Vranova believes this trend is directly related to Bitcoin price fluctuations. Since the market entered a strong growth phase in early 2025, especially during President Donald Trump's administration with many policies supporting technology and finance, BTC prices continuously reached new heights. This attractiveness not only drew in new investors but also stimulated more criminal plans. She predicts that the number of Bitcoin-related kidnappings this year could double compared to the worst previous year.
The main cause of these incidents is believed to be personal information leaks from exchanges or large platforms like Facebook, Google, Telegram... In May 2025, Coinbase was collectively sued by shareholders, accused of deliberately concealing a customer data breach. Just a month later, a Cybernews report revealed 16 billion login credentials from multiple large platforms were sold on the black market, making it easier for criminals to identify and target victims holding significant digital assets.
Recent stories have further raised concerns in the community. In Spain last July, a businessman owning about 15 BTC (equivalent to nearly 1.05 million USD) was invaded by an armed criminal group, restrained, and forced to transfer all Bitcoin to various wallets to erase transaction traces. The victim was only released after hours of detention. In Southeast Asia, Philippine police recently dismantled a network specializing in approaching crypto investors through social media, luring them to meet in person and then using force to gain access to digital wallets. Among the victims were European and American tourists, showing the scale of such criminal activities has far exceeded national boundaries.
Cybersecurity experts warn that as the Bitcoin market enters an explosive phase, each investor needs to proactively protect themselves by keeping personal information private, not publicly sharing asset holdings on social media, prioritizing Cold Storage over exchange storage, activating two-factor authentication, and limiting direct meetings with strangers. 2025 promises to be an exciting year with great opportunities in the digital currency market, but it's also a time when the risk of personal safety is higher than ever without appropriate preventive measures.
