Seven years ago, a kidnapping in South Africa made headlines for one particular demand: the kidnappers in question asked to be paid in cryptocurrency. Nowadays, the headlines surrounding crypto-related kidnappings are a little different; instead of criminals looking to get their ransoms in cryptocurrency, kidnappers are going right to the source.
The Associated Press’s John Leicester recounted the unsettling account of a man held hostage who lost a finger in the process. (Thankfully, he was rescued before he could be further harmed.) Leicester described the abducted man as “the father of a wealthy cryptocurrency entrepreneur.” Unfortunately, it sounds like this is becoming increasingly commonplace; the article references another high-profile crypto-related kidnapping that took place earlier this year.
That case involved the kidnapping of David Balland and his wife from their Paris home. Balland founded the crypto company Ledger; as Fortune reported, law enforcement took 10 people related to the case into custody.
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That’s certainly one way to reactUnsurprisingly, potential targets for similarly-minded kidnappers have begun taking steps to protect themselves. In February, WIRED‘s Joel Khalili reported that a growing number of crypto executives were looking into ways to protect themselves, including hiring bodyguards, following Balland’s abduction.
As Khalili pointed out, the very nature of cryptocurrency makes its holders “more exposed to violent extortion than the typical executive.” In other words, the very technology that makes cryptocurrency relatively private might also spur would-be kidnappers to a series of unsettling acts. It might not be the most paradoxical element of cryptocurrency, but it’s up there.
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