- This is more apparent now in Western Europe where traders in cryptocurrencies are experiencing some off-line risks through physical attacks.
- Most of the time, well-known personalities in the crypto space seem to be trailing these incidents.
- The wave of offline crypto robberies is not exclusive to Europe, similar cases occurred in the cities of Hong Kong and Singapore.
As it was expected, armed robbers began targeting cryptocurrency traders in Western Europe including some of the most popular profiles within this sector. Innovative crypto detective ZachXBT believes that there has been a recent spike of ‘robberies’ offline where people from the digital money scene have been threatened with a gun.This wave of crime is not exclusive to Europe as similar incidents occurred in the cities of Hong Kong and Singapore meaning the physical danger to people who own crypto is not isolated.
ZachXBT warns that there has been an increase in offline robberies targeting cryptocurrency traders in Western Europe in recent months. All cases involve well-known figures in the crypto community who were threatened at gunpoint. Hong Kong and Singapore have also seen offline…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 27, 2024
High-Profile Targets in Western Europe and Asia
Over the past few months, several leading cryptocurrency traders within the western part of the European Union region have been attacked by armed robbers. These attacks share a common thread: The criminals particularly focus on persons who are well identifiable within the crypto industry. Assailants with firearms have certainly invaded and accosted their targets in person in order to initiate the theft of digital coins thus asking for the path to physical wallets or other storage devices.
Offline crypto robberies have also escalated to Asia notably in Hong Kong and Singapore among other places. These cities, that have adopted friendly stances towards the usage of cryptocurrencies, have emerged as important regional centers of digital currency business. For this reason, they have also incurred interest from criminals who aim at taking advantage of the high population of wealthy crypto lovers in the respective areas.
Crypto Community Prospects
This increasing physical violence is a new type of threat that the world of cryptocurrencies has not faced before in addition to other virtual attacks. The decision to switch to offline heists means that the owners of cryptos should be careful not only on the Internet but also in real life.
The events carry a few implications about the right to information and the identity of actors in the cryptographic money market. While blockchain technology provides unprece- dented transaction transparency that can create value for users, it may also be unintentionally making users vulnerable to physical risks.