$124 million. That is how much criminals stole through so-called "wrench attacks" on crypto holders in the first half of 2025, according to CertiK's latest security report. The figure is 12 times higher than the same period a year earlier, which makes it one of the sharpest single-year jumps in physical crypto crime ever recorded.
Wrench attacks, the term borrowed from a classic cryptography joke about beating a password out of someone rather than cracking it, refer to real-world robberies and kidnappings where attackers force victims to hand over wallet access on the spot. No sophisticated exploit needed. Just physical coercion.
CertiK tracked dozens of incidents across multiple continents. Victims ranged from retail investors who had been publicly active on social media to traders who met strangers in person to exchange funds. In several cases, perpetrators used information scraped from public blockchain addresses or forum posts to identify targets before striking.
The 12x jump matters because most crypto security spending still flows toward smart contract audits and on-chain monitoring. Physical security for individual holders gets far less attention, and the numbers suggest that gap is being exploited at scale. A $10 million DeFi hack draws headlines; a series of street-level robberies totaling the same amount rarely does.
CertiK's researchers recommend that high-value holders avoid disclosing portfolio sizes publicly, use multisig setups that require delays or co-signers for large transfers, and keep the bulk of assets in cold storage that cannot be accessed under duress in real time. Some wallets now offer a "duress PIN" feature that unlocks a decoy account with a small balance, though adoption remains low.
At $124 million over six months, the pace puts 2025 on track to far exceed any previous year for this category of crypto crime.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or security advice.
