March 5 News: A cryptocurrency holder claimed on social media that they were subjected to a violent attack, during which the assailant stole approximately $24 million worth of crypto assets. The victim stated that the attacker threatened kidnapping and used an axe to force them to transfer funds. The incident has garnered widespread attention, and blockchain security firm PeckShield has begun tracking the flow of the stolen funds.
According to the victim’s description on X (Twitter), during the attack, the suspect used force to threaten the victim into transferring their crypto assets and threatened to commit sexual violence. The victim said they were held down during the incident but were not seriously harmed, though their crypto assets were stolen. The stolen funds were transferred to an Ethereum wallet starting with 0x6fe0…0322.
Currently, the victim has offered a 10% bounty for the recovery of the stolen funds and is calling on blockchain investigators to help trace the flow of the money. PeckShield later stated that an Ethereum address related to this case was stolen from about $24 million worth of aEthUSDC. Analysis shows that these funds are now stored in two wallets controlled by the attacker, each holding approximately $10 million.
More complex is the fact that the attacker has transferred part of the stolen funds to the Layer 2 network Arbitrum, a common tactic used to obfuscate the source of funds and hide transaction traces. PeckShield’s analysis team indicated that these funds have not yet been consolidated, meaning there is still a possibility to track their flow.
This incident highlights the increasing risk of physical attacks in the crypto space, often referred to as “wrench attacks,” where criminals use violence to force crypto holders to reveal private keys or execute transfers. As the cryptocurrency industry expands, such violent crimes targeting individual assets are gradually rising.
It is currently unclear whether any of the stolen funds have been successfully recovered, but the event serves as a stark reminder for crypto holders to enhance security awareness and avoid becoming targets of such crimes.
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