Once upon a time, flashing your crypto fortune meant tweeting laser eyes or buying a Lambo. Now? It means armored cars, private security, and praying no one’s tracking your Ledger. With a sharp rise in kidnappings and physical threats targeting crypto investors, the rich and digital-famous are finally realizing that a beefy wallet needs beefier protection.
According to Jethro Pijlman, managing director of Infinite Risks International in Amsterdam, their phones are blowing up:
“We’ve had more inquiries, more long-term clients, and more proactive requests from crypto investors who don’t want to be caught off guard.”
Translation? Crypto elites are getting nervous and finally acknowledging that staying safe is part of doing business at this level.
Bitcoin Bling Now Comes with Bulletproof Glass
Back in 2013, when Bitcoin moon-shot for the first time, early adopters strutted around with bodyguards like rockstars. But what started as a flex turned into a grim necessity. Over the past decade, investors have faced increasingly bold kidnappings and extortion plots, and not all lived to tell the tale.
Things got real when Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were kidnapped earlier this year. That incident flipped a switch in the community. Suddenly, “better safe than sorry” turned into “hire security or risk everything.”
Cybersecurity expert Jameson Lopp is keeping receipts, documenting over 20 physical attacks on crypto holders around the world. Just this month, a French crypto entrepreneur’s father was abducted, and a video surfaced of a failed kidnapping attempt targeting the daughter and grandson of Paymium’s CEO. The French government has responded by promising crypto execs priority access to emergency services and personalized police briefings.
Meanwhile, digital threats keep stacking. A Coinbase breach this week, allegedly triggered by bribed support staff, exposed sensitive data of nearly 1% of its users. According to blockchain security expert Ronghui Gu from Columbia University:
“Crypto traders are acutely concerned about their privacy during data leaks.”
And they should be. Once a criminal gets hold of your private key, there’s no ‘forgot password’ option. That’s why, as Sentinel CEO Charles Marino puts it:
“Right now, the crypto threat landscape is very high.”
Million-Dollar Security Budgets? Yep.
How serious is this getting? Coinbase dropped a jaw-dropping $6.2 million in 2024 just to keep CEO Brian Armstrong safe, more than JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Nvidia combined spent protecting their top dogs.
Circle shelled out $800,000 for CEO Jeremy Allaire, and Robinhood paid $1.6 million to guard Vlad Tenev.
Infinite Risks International now offers the full James Bond package: bodyguards, armored vehicles, home fortification, and social media monitoring to prevent location leaks. As Pijlman says:
“It often takes a close call or a story in the news to prompt action… People are waking up to the fact that their digital success can create very real-world risks.”
So, next time your crypto moonbags are looking heavy, maybe don’t tweet about it. Just quietly call for backup.
HODL Team
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