Protecting Against the Rise of Wrench Attacks

The Bitcoin community is raising alarms over a disturbing trend: wrench attacks.
This week, AnchorWatch’s own Becca Rubenfeld appeared on Fox Business to discuss this growing threat and how insurance can help mitigate the risk.

What is a Wrench Attack?

As Fox Business correspondent Lydia Hu explained, wrench attacks are exactly what they sound like: brutal, physical assaults aimed at forcing crypto holders to surrender their private keys and or passwords.

In recent months, wrench attacks have escalated in both frequency and severity:

• In New York, an Italian tourist was allegedly held hostage and tortured for weeks inside a townhouse. - CBS Coverage
• In Paris, masked attackers attempted to kidnap the pregnant daughter of a French crypto executive, an attack that was caught on camera. - WSJ Story

While many believe these attacks only target ultra-wealthy Bitcoiners, that is no longer the case, Rubenfeld shared:

“There are plenty of attacks in the last six and 18 months of people who were either murdered or held up, kidnapped and held in their own home for several days, tortured, beaten for several hundred thousand dollars. So the perception that you're only at risk if you have millions and millions of dollars ultimately is not appearing to be true.”

How Insurance Can Help

One of the few emerging defenses against wrench attacks is insurance. As the segment highlighted, AnchorWatch now offers coverage of up to $100 million on Bitcoin held in its Trident Vaults, backed by Lloyd's of London with protection that includes losses due to wrench attacks.

Coverage isn’t just for the C-suite, according to Rubenfeld:

“We see it all the way from very, very wealthy individuals to company leaders, all the way down to relatively normal people.”

In a world where even everyday crypto holders can become targets, this kind of protection is becoming more critical than ever.

The Bigger Picture

High-profile hacks like the recent Coinbase breach, which exposed the personal details of nearly 97,000 customers, only increase the threat landscape. Once your name, address, and holdings are out there, you become a potential target.

That’s why it’s essential to follow basic operational security:

• Keep your Bitcoin ownership on a strict need-to-know basis.
• Use robust, well-governed custody like AnchorWatch’s Trident Vault.
• Consider insurance as part of your overall risk management strategy.

Closing Thoughts

As Rubenfeld’s Fox Business appearance made clear: wrench attacks are no longer rare, nor are they limited to billionaires. If you hold meaningful Bitcoin wealth, now is the time to think seriously about how you’re protecting it.

If you’d like to learn more about AnchorWatch’s insured custody solutions, reach out to us here.