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A cryptocurrency investor known as “Sillytuna” said that attackers stole about 24 million dollars worth of cryptocurrencies from him after threatening him with violence during a real-world robbery, in an incident that brought renewed attention to what is known as Wrench Attacks.
Wrench Attacks are a type of crime in the world of cryptocurrencies that rely on threats or physical violence to force the victim to hand over their wallet keys or transfer their assets rather than being hacked technically.
The origin of the name came from an old sarcastic idea in computer security that breaking encryption can be very difficult, but one could simply hit the key holder with a British key (a mechanical tool) until they give you the password.
The victim clarified in posts on platform X that the attackers were armed and threatened him with kidnapping and assault if he did not transfer control of his digital wallets.
He confirmed that the police in the United Kingdom are investigating the incident.
According to data from blockchain analysis platforms, the attackers seized approximately $23.6 million from the "aEthUSDC" currency associated with the victim's wallet.
Most of the funds were then quickly converted into other cryptocurrencies and distributed across multiple wallets.
Analyses indicate that approximately $20 million was converted to DAI and placed in two addresses on the Ethereum network, while $2.48 million was transferred to the "Arbitrum" network before being used to purchase the privacy coin Monero, making tracking it more difficult. Additionally, about $1.1 million was transferred to the Bitcoin network via bridge services and possibly to mixing services.
The victim offered a 10% reward for the recovery of any part of the funds, even if the perpetrators themselves returned it, and asked trading platforms and blockchain investigators to help track or freeze the assets.
The incident prompted a swift response from the crypto community to track the stolen funds.
Security researchers noted the use of the "Wagyu" service to convert funds to Monero, while the service developer explained that the platform does not usually freeze user funds, but was able to later detect suspicious transactions and prevent further operations.
This incident comes amidst a noticeable rise in physical coercion attacks against crypto investors. Among the notable previous incidents was the kidnapping of David Balland, co-founder of Ledger in France in 2025, as well as an incident where an American investor in London was drugged and around $122,000 worth of cryptocurrencies was stolen.