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Crypto “wrench attacks” rise to $124.1M in six months, France leads
CertiK says break-ins at victims homes increased to 20 cases in H1 2026, and recorded financial exposure jumped from $10.5 million in H1 2025.
Violent “wrench attacks” targeting crypto holders increased sharply in the first half of 2026, with blockchain security firm CertiK verifying 52 incidents worldwide, up from 39 in the same period a year earlier, according to Decrypt.
CertiK said the recorded financial exposure nearly 12-fold to $124.1 million in H1 2026, from $10.5 million in H1 2025, while the average recorded haul per incident rose to $2.39 million from $270,000. The firm cautioned the figures reflect ransom demands and frozen or recovered assets, not only confirmed stolen value, and that under-reporting may be significant because victims fear retaliation or reputational harm.
The report described a defining shift toward home invasions, with break-ins rising from a single publicly reported case in H1 2025 to 20 in the first half of 2026, or about 41% of all incidents. Kidnapping remained elevated, increasing from 12 to 16 cases, and CertiK recorded one murder in each period.
Geographically, CertiK found the crisis concentrated in Western Europe, where Europe accounted for 75% of verified incidents and France alone drove 33 of the 52 cases. CertiK linked France’s prominence to its large, visible crypto presence and a series of data breaches, and it said the threat has become more professional and layered, including organizers building “target packages” from leaked data and on-chain activity. The firm added that standard precautions like hardware wallets or hidden seed phrases may not protect victims if they are forced to unlock them, and it pushed for multi-signature approaches as a response.