Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan enjoys the fruits of his extremely lucrative investment in cryptocurrencies by renting a luxurious New York townhouse for $40,000 a month. But in May, his 17-room Manhattan house turned into a torture room, and the kidnappers were kidnapped for 17 days.

Cathuran's kidnappers John Woeltz and William Dupleseie want to use his crypto account, using cruel methods to reward open Cathuran's bitcoin wallet, which allegedly contains $28 million worth of cryptocurrency. In other methods of torture, they hang him from the roof of a building, shock him with wires, and threaten him with chainsaws.

When all other problems fail, they force him to smoke cocaine. In the end, they failed. After more than two weeks of hardship, Katuran managed to escape the townhouse, where Waltz and Duplacie were subsequently arrested and charged with kidnapping and assault.

Carturan's ordeal is one of the latest in a series of "wrench attacks" that include so-called "cryptographic kidnappings", combining high-tech cyber theft with old-fashioned beatings and carried out in several countries around the world.

Arrested elsewhere for kidnapping?

Yes. French prosecutors said on May 31, French prosecutors said that there were several attempts to kidnap kidnappings in France's cryptocurrency world.

It was the climax of the police investigation, which investigated the "organized gang kidnapping" of the daughter and grandson of the cryptocurrency company Paymium in Paris on May 13, as well as "other failed plans" in other goals the day before and another attempt at the Nantes in the western city on June 2.

"18 people have been sentenced to pre-trial detention, three have requested a delay in the hearing, and four have been litigated under judicial oversight," the Paris Attorney's Office told the Paris attack. The suspect is between 16 and 23 years old.

France has been at the center of several attacks on famous crypto entrepreneurs in recent months. However, kidnapping with crypto-related ties also occurs in other countries.

Where is the encryption kidnapping?

In addition to the recent kidnapping in Paris, a group of criminals have kidnapped David Balland, co-founder of cryptocurrency company Ledger, and his wife in central France in January.

In a particularly creepy incident, the kidnapper cuts off one of Baolan's fingers and sends the dismemberment video to Ledger. However, within two days, French military police released two victims.

In this case, nine suspects are under criminal investigation.

In December 2024, the wife of crypto investor and influencer Stephane Winkel was kidnapped at the Belgian home by the couple. Her kidnapper was rescued after crashing in a dramatic police chase.

Canada and Australia have also witnessed high-profile kidnappings, with crypto executives and businessmen being kidnapped and forced to pay ransoms of digital assets from $40,000 to $1 million.

It is not clear whether cryptocurrency kidnapping has been connected in any way recently.

What is cryptocurrency?

Bitcoin has been trading since January 2009 and is the first cryptocurrency. This form of currency exchange allows people to bypass central banks and traditional payment methods. Now, it is a fully functional, decentralized currency system with hundreds of millions of users worldwide.

Bitcoin was first used in transactions in 2009 and is worth only $0.004 per Bitcoin. Yesterday, the price of Bitcoin fell nearly $101,576, about 53% higher than the same period last year and nearly 2.5 trillion higher than in 2009.

Initially, this digital currency was favored by Internet liberals who were attracted by the idea that currency was not subject to government intervention. It quickly gained more mainstream popularity and prices rose.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken steps to mint several cryptocurrencies, meaning they will be included in the "strategic cryptocurrency reserve", thus further increasing prices in the process.

Although cryptocurrency theft is nothing new, historically they have involved hackers selling digital accounts and holding large amounts of currencies. For example, in 2022, Internet Thieves stole $570 million from Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.

But as the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets continues to climb, criminals are transferring their efforts from online hackers to real-world ransomware through kidnapping and torture.

How do criminals target victims of crypto-killing kidnapping?

The victims are not difficult to find.

Some crypto tycoons, many of them young people, are used to wealth on social media or appearing at cryptocurrency conferences, which makes it easy for criminals to identify targets.

Despite the 2016 Kim Kardashian kidnapping, many people continue to show off their wealth. The American reality TV star was tied to her hotel room in Paris when the robbers were eliminated with millions of dollars worth of jewelry. These people - known as "Grandpa robbers" because of their age - were later arrested and sentenced to prison by French courts.

That's not a cryptocurrency attack, but as more crypto pianos emerge, there's hardly any distinction between them from the wealthy rich like the Kardashians do.

But even those with huge crypto wealth who are more cautious about showing their wealth on social media and the public are exposed to criminal activities through data breaches on cryptocurrency exchanges.

In May 2025, Coinbase Global announced that hackers have managed to obtain personal information, including home addresses of nearly 70,000 clients over the past few months, putting thousands of people at risk of attack or ransomware.

In addition to hacking into the crypto millionaire's accounts, criminals have bribed insiders of cryptocurrency exchanges to obtain customer data. This information is then used to select and find high-value targets for kidnapping or family invasion.

Why is encrypted kidnapping rising?

It is much easier to steal money from a digital wallet than stealing fees from a traditional bank account, and kidnapping is one way to do that.

An attacker simply needs to access someone’s crypto account password, because there is no third-party financial institution that can protect the funds held in the digital wallet.

Transactions on open blockchains (technology that promotes cryptocurrencies) are also permanent, meaning transactions are irreversible.

And, unlike cash, jewelry and gold, thieves don’t need to take away stolen cryptocurrencies. With a few clicks, money can be simply transferred from one account to another.

In addition, traditional law enforcement capabilities of cryptocurrencies also mean that money laundering has become much easier, making it popular with Internet-based drug dealers.

Therefore, if the criminals can force the victim to give up their accounts, they can immediately gain enormous wealth, and therefore, physical attacks and kidnappings.

Can you get insurance for kidnapping cryptocurrencies?

Yes, you can. According to a report by NBC News, at least three insurers that serve cryptocurrency investors are designing policies specifically targeting kidnapping, called kidnapping and ransomware (K&R) policies.

Anchorwatch's chief operating officer, Becca Rubenfeld, a crypto insurer aiming to launch K&R protection later this year, said fears about violence were a key topic at this May at this year's annual Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas.

"They (crypto holders are all nervous," Rubenfeld told NBC. "I'm not saying it's because I want to sell insurance, but overall, the mood is a great environment for me."

Kidnapping and ransomware insurance are not uncommon for high-profile corporate executives.

What are crypto investors doing to stay safe?

Elsewhere, security experts urge investors to avoid sharing details of their cryptocurrency holdings online (even with friends) and use fake and new digital wallet addresses for each transaction.

Crypto traders are increasingly avoiding making social media posts using photos of geographic indications, especially anyone showing off their luxury items or revealing their travel plans.