JAKARTA - A 29-year-old Bitcoin activist was kidnapped and murdered in Kyiv, Ukraine, hours ago, according to a report by the National Police Communications Department and local media. Four men aged 24 to 29 years are now detained on suspicion of planning to kidnap victims and steal three Bitcoins worth around Rp. 2.9 billion.
Information about the man's kidnapping was received by police in the capital around midnight. Residents of a house in the Solomyansk district heard screams and saw several unknown people hitting and putting a man forcibly into the car. The officer's investigation found that the attack had been planned.
Violence attacks against crypto asset holders are not rare, for example, in a recent ETHcc conference in Brussels, several conference participants were robbed. Many later argue that physical security should be part of the security arrangements of crypto asset holders.
"Increase your OPSEC - I expect the attack to increase in line with the exchange rate," wrote OG Bitcoiner and co-founder Casa, Jameson Lopp, who tracked violent attacks against crypto holders, in 2020 after two people were killed in Riga, Latvia.
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Reporting from The Block, Lopp noted in a bitcoiner guideline for organized crime, published earlier this month, that criminals typically identify victims through social media posts, public conversations, meetings, conferences, and complex data collection from known and unknown leaks.
"Privacy is an important aspect of security. While it's not a complete solution to securing someone's wealth, it's a good strategy to put in your security tools," he wrote. Premise generally is that if criminals are less aware of you, they tend to target you less.
The perpetrators suspected of being attacked in Kyiv reportedly tracked down the address of the foreign victim when he returned around midnight.
They hit him, forcibly dragged him into the car, and took him to a building left in the Kyiv area, the report reads.
This tragedy highlights the real risks crypto holders face, not only from cyberattacks but also from physical threats. With the growing popularity of Bitcoin and other digital assets, it is important for crypto holders to focus not only on digital security but also consider physical protection measures in their daily lives.
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