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‘Everyone is a Target’: Big Threat Overshadows Bitcoin Conference

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Experts say the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas will be a "prime hunting ground for criminals" as crypto kidnappings rise.

Features writer

Connor Sephton

Features writer

Connor Sephton

About Author

Connor Sephton is a journalist based in London, who also works for Sky News and the BBC as a radio newsreader and online reporter. He has covered crypto since 2018 — reporting from major conferences...

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Last updated:

May 27, 2025

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A dark cloud has formed over the Bitcoin 2025 conference — and on crypto’s bull market more generally: the safety of investors.

It follows a spate of shocking, violent kidnappings so far this year. The latest involves an Italian tourist who was allegedly kidnapped, drugged and tortured for several weeks — as well as dangled over a ledge — by a man demanding the private key to his BTC wallet.

Other traumatizing details from a police report suggest the victim was urinated on, forced to smoke crack cocaine and subjected to electric shocks, with an AirTag placed around his neck to track his location. Dramatic footage later emerged of the man’s escape.

A suspect called John Woeltz — himself a crypto trader with an estimated net worth of about $100 million — has now been taken into custody. The crime allegedly happened at a high-end Manhattan apartment renting for up to $40,000 a month, with Polaroid pictures documenting the abuse found at the scene.

Some attendees now arriving in Las Vegas have made it clear that they aren’t taking any precautions. One of them is Elizabeth Olson, who heads up marketing for Magic Eden on Bitcoin.

Posting on X, she revealed some of the additional security measures she’s put in place against a backdrop of brazen attacks on Bitcoiners — including a bodyguard and a private driver. Jewelry has been left at home in a safe, with her location shared at all times between close friends. Olson’s message was stark:

“Everyone is a target, the whole city knows this conference is happening. Bitcoin is pumping so you have to take precautions.”

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It’s long been perceived wisdom that publicly bragging about crypto holdings on the internet is a bad idea. But now, some early adopters are thinking twice about showing any signs of wealth. Pictures of shiny Lamborghinis and swish Rolex watches aren’t as trendy as they used to be.

And worryingly, crypto kidnappings have been reported in Las Vegas as recently as this month. Local media reports suggest three teenagers are accused of abducting a man from the city at gunpoint and stealing $4 million worth of digital assets.

The victim had hosted a crypto-related event and was targeted when he returned home — with the perpetrators, two of them as young as 16, allegedly driving him 70 miles into the desert, placing a towel over his head, and threatening him with death.

At this point, it’s important to stress that such kidnappings aren’t a problem isolated to the U.S. — with a number of high-profile cases in France.

You may remember earlier this year that Ledger co-founder David Balland went through a traumatic abduction that led to one of his fingers being cut off.

This led to criticism that the government isn’t doing enough to prevent these abductions.

Balland’s business partner Eric Larchevêque claimed “lax” law enforcement was contributing to “the Mexicanization of France” — and said it’s unacceptable that crypto executives were being targeted in broad daylight on the capital’s streets.

“Being successful in France, whether in the field of cryptoassets or elsewhere, means having a target on your back. And what are we told? That we should have been discreet. That we should have hidden. That we had it coming.”

It is worth noting that France’s interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has been attempting to react to these concerns. He met representatives from the crypto industry earlier this month — and vowed “to put an end to these unbearable attacks.”

Some of the urgent measures brought in, effective immediately, include security checks for crypto executives, briefings with elite police units, and a phone number they can ring in an emergency.

Across the Atlantic, no such precautions currently exist — and although Secret Service agents will be on the scene when the likes of JD Vance and David Sacks are on stage, their protection doesn’t apply to all Bitcoin 2025 attendees.

Private security firm Rescor Group has warned conferences like this are “prime hunting grounds for criminals” — and measures in place inside the venue will not extend elsewhere:

“Step into a hotel lounge, bar, or nearby Airbnb, and that protective bubble vanishes. You are your first line of defense.”

Practical advice includes not flaunting wealth, using cold storage, using aliases when booking travel, and thinking twice before posting updates on social media, as this could offer insights into live locations. The company went on to cite figures suggesting there was a 200% rise in kidnap and ransomware attacks targeting crypto figures in 2024 — and claimed there are links to “international syndicates” such as MS-13.

With Bitcoin knocking on the door of all-time highs, this may be a situation that gets worse before it gets better.