Crypto Community Grapples With Surge in Violent Robberies

Recent high-profile robberies targeting crypto investors have raised serious concerns within the community. A string of violent incidents, including armed hold-ups and brutal home invasions, are shaking trust and highlighting the need for enhanced security measures. 🕵️‍♂️ For example, Lachy Groom, former partner of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, became a victim last Saturday night when he was robbed of $11 million worth of cryptocurrency at gunpoint. The assailants posing as delivery personnel entered his residence, physically assaulted him, and stole his belongings before emptying his accounts. 💼 This incident follows reports of other violent robberies. In November, a man in Saint Petersburg, Russia broke into a trading platform office, using explosives to access the crypto assets. Another case involved a Hong Kong man sentenced to seven years in Canada for a brutal home invasion involving four attackers who subjected a family to hours of assault and threats of sexual violence before stealing $1.6 million worth of Bitcoin. 😱 Even seemingly less-dramatic crimes, such as those targeting travelers on their way between Oxford and London, have raised alarm bells. A group of assailants targeted travelers, stealing watches and phones before coercing them to transfer crypto assets from their accounts. ✈️ The estimated value of the stolen goods totals £450,000 in watches and £1.1 million in cryptocurrency. 💸 This trend has prompted heightened attention on security vulnerabilities within the cryptocurrency sector.