Following the attempted kidnapping of a crypto CEO’s relatives in France and the hack of Coinbase that leaked personal customer data, wealthy crypto owners around the world are stepping up their personal security. The demand for private security and special equipment is skyrocketing.
Following the attempted kidnapping of a crypto CEO’s relatives in France and the hack of Coinbase that leaked personal customer data, wealthy crypto owners around the world are stepping up their personal security. The demand for private security and special equipment is skyrocketing.
Cryptocurrency not only brings crazy profits, but also poses threats to life and security. In its new article, Bloomberg tells how, after a high-profile attack on the Coinbase exchange, which led to the leakage of addresses and financial information of customers, owners of large crypto assets are increasingly becoming targets not of hackers, but of criminals with real weapons.
Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the number of calls to security companies. Most of them are received by the Dutch firm Infinite Risks International, which specializes in the physical protection of VIPs, including crypto investors.
“We have more inquiries, more long-term customers and proactive appeals from people who don’t want to be caught off guard,” said company director Jethro Pillman.
Not only hacker attacks but also actual kidnapping attempts have caused concern. For example, in France, three armed men tried to kidnap the daughter and granddaughter of the head of the crypto company Paymium. The attackers were stopped by neighbors, but the incident received wide publicity.
The physical threat to crypto owners is real, as Bitcoin and other tokens can be transferred instantly and anonymously. All it takes is for someone to give up the keys and the funds disappear with no chance of recovery. Unlike bank accounts, which can be frozen or traced, blockchain offers no such protection.
Amid all these events, Coinbase reported in its reporting that it spent $6.2 million in 2023 on the security of its CEO Brian Armstrong alone. This is more than the heads of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Nvidia combined.
While Coinbase said the breach affected less than 1% of its customers, the threat is all too real. Leaked addresses and financial data could lead to direct attacks on users’ homes or physical blackmail attempts. That’s why big investors are already talking about a new normal: having a bodyguard nearby is part of the cost of doing business in crypto.
The legalization of cryptocurrencies in Ukraine is currently on hold. We recently wrote about how the Ukrainian parliament postponed consideration of a key bill on virtual assets and cryptocurrency taxation, despite the fact that it was supported by the relevant committee and the IMF expected it to be so.
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