Spanish and Danish police have dismantled a cross-border criminal network accused of abducting and killing a man for access to his cryptocurrency holdings — a brutal example of rising “wrench attacks” that target crypto holders in the real world.
The investigation began in April after a woman in Málaga reported that she and her partner had been ambushed in nearby Mijas by three or four masked assailants armed with handguns. According to police statements, the couple were forced into a vehicle and taken to a residence where the attackers tried to extract access to their crypto wallets. The female victim was released around midnight; the male victim was later found dead in a wooded area, with a gunshot wound and other signs of violence. Police say the man had been shot in the leg while trying to flee.
Spanish authorities arrested five suspects and, working with Danish law enforcement, coordinated charges against four additional individuals. Danish police confirmed two of those charged were already serving prison terms for similar crimes. As part of the probe, Spanish officers executed six raids in Madrid and Málaga, seizing an assortment of items tied to the case: two handguns (one real, one imitation), a baton, blood-stained clothing, mobile phones, documents, and biological evidence.
Law enforcement described the perpetrators as part of a cross-border organization that uses violent methods to steal digital assets — a pattern that mirrors an industry-wide shift from online thefts to physical coercion. These “wrench attacks” — where attackers physically force victims to hand over passwords, seed phrases, or hardware devices — have gained increased attention as crypto adoption grows.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis warns that violent, crypto-related attacks are trending sharply upward. Their report projects that such attacks could reach record levels in 2025; as of July, 35 violent attacks had been recorded worldwide, putting the year on pace to surpass the previous peak seen in 2021. Chainalysis also found that more than $2.17 billion has been stolen from cryptocurrency services so far this year — already exceeding the total for 2024 — and nearly one-quarter of those losses stem from attacks on personal wallets.
Criminals are increasingly targeting high-value, retail-held wallets, especially in regions where crypto use is expanding. Chainalysis data highlight the Asia-Pacific region as a major hotspot: it ranks second globally for Bitcoin theft and third for Ether theft, with countries including Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines reporting a rise in violent incidents — some with severe outcomes.
The Spanish–Danish operation underscores both the international reach of organized crypto crime and the growing physical risks faced by holders of significant digital-asset wallets. Authorities say the case remains under investigation as they continue to pursue additional suspects and evidence.
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