In early 2026, the crypto industry saw a spike in violent “wrench attacks,” with eleven incidents reported, targeting investors to extort their digital assets. These attacks have been notably severe, occurring in countries such as France, England, and the Philippines, where victims were threatened or assaulted for access to their cryptocurrencies. The uptick coincides with growing digital asset adoption, which has shifted criminal focus from digital to physical vulnerabilities. In regions like France, breaches of sensitive data — including a hack on tax reporting service Waltio in January that exposed 50,000 customers’ information — have exacerbated the threat landscape. As a response to this rising violence, crypto developers are incorporating technical solutions like timelock features in wallets, designed to delay transactions during coercion, thus offering potential victims more time for authorities to intervene.
Rising wrench attacks target crypto investors with 11 cases in 2026: DL News
