London gang convicted of kidnapping barber they thought was a Bitcoin billionaire—he wasn’t

A gang in London was convicted for the failed kidnapping of Belgian barber Quentin Cepeljac, mistakenly thinking he held a fortune in Bitcoin. After discovering he had only 9 USD in his crypto wallet, they reduced their demands from 67,000 USD to 2,700 USD from his bank account.

The case spotlights increasing physical attacks, dubbed ‘wrench attacks’, aimed at individuals flaunting crypto wealth online. Criminals are focusing on direct confrontation instead of cyber methods, presenting a growing danger for perceived crypto holders.