A British cryptocurrency trader reported that masked intruders threatened him with a knife and stole nearly $800,000 worth of cryptocurrencies, which has further exacerbated concerns about the spread of “wrench attack” in the UK.

This cryptocurrency trader stated that an armed intruder held him at gunpoint with a knife, forcing him to transfer approximately $760,000 in digital assets, but the police have not yet confirmed this claim.

This type of robbery is known as “wrench attack”, which involves using violence or threats to force cryptocurrency holders to hand over their assets, thereby bypassing digital security measures.

Chainalysis It is estimated that criminals stole over 30 million US dollars through violent attacks in the first half of 2026, with burglaries accounting for 37% of the recorded cases.

This British cryptocurrency trader stated that after the armed intruders broke in, they forced him to transfer nearly $800,000 worth of crypto assets to a designated wallet, highlighting a risk: neither self-management nor encryption technology can prevent such threats against investors.

This unidentified trader, who uses the alias “realist” on X, claimed that the assailants held him at gunpoint with a knife, destroyed his phone, and forced him to transfer approximately $40,000 from a hot wallet, as well as about $720,000 from his Ledger wallet.

He posted saying, "If you live in the UK and are still involved in cryptocurrency, leave this country immediately."

Not long before this incident, there was a similar robbery reported in the UK last December: masked attackers beat up a cryptocurrency investor with a hammer and threatened to kill his pregnant wife unless he transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds in cryptocurrency.

This type of crime is commonly referred to as “wrench attack”, which involves using physical violence or threats to force cryptocurrency holders to hand over their assets.

Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis estimates that criminals stole over $30 million through violent attacks in the first half of 2026. Burglaries accounted for 37% of the recorded incidents, up from 14% a year ago.

France has become a hot spot for “wrench attack”, with Chainalysis recording at least 30 related cases in the first half of this year.

Blockchain security company Certik confirmed 52 attacks globally during the same period, of which 33 occurred in France.

These data indicate that, in addition to pure digital threats such as hacker attacks, phishing, and exploitation of smart contract vulnerabilities, physical coercion is becoming an increasingly significant concern.

For investors, this means that the risks lie not only in protecting private keys, but also in maintaining the confidentiality of their holdings information, limiting the public disclosure of their trading activities, and separating funds that can be used at any time from long-term reserves. However, no single technical security measure can eliminate the threat of force.