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A spate of abductions has sent crypto executives and wealthy investors in search of ways to protect themselves.

On January 21, David Balland and his wife were forced at gunpoint into separate vehicles outside their home in Méreau. The kidnappers had targeted Balland, who cofounded cryptocurrency wallet company Ledger, with the goal of winning a ransom, a prosecutor has claimed.

To protect themselves, wealthy crypto figures are turning to bodyguard services, which have experienced an influx of requests, sources with knowledge of the physical security sector tell WIRED.

Because not every case of kidnap or extortion is reported, it is difficult to objectively assess the actual risk to wealthy figures in crypto. In making the fear of kidnap more acute, the headlines benefit the private security businesses, themselves incentivized to overstate the threat.

However, it is the case that people who control large amounts of crypto are more exposed to violent extortion than the typical executive by the nature of the technology: Unlike regular currency, crypto is stored in digital wallets protected only by alphanumeric keys. 🔗 www.wired.com/story/after-...