Insurers Respond to Fears of Crypto-Related Kidnappings-Bitcoinblog.de-the blog for Bitcoin and other virtual currencies

As cases of abductions targeting crypto investors continue to rise, some insurers are now developing specialized policies for crypto-kidnapping.

The annual Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas (Bitcoin 2025) typically serves as a cozy affirmation for the industry. This year, however, a certain sense of unease was also palpable among the attendees.

A major topic among participants, explains Rebecca Rubenfeld from AnchorWatch, was the fear of violence and kidnappings. Other insurers are also becoming increasingly alert, as reported by NBC News.

At least three insurers are already working on policies specifically targeting crypto investors to protect them from kidnappings. Since the strong rise in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices, investors and entrepreneurs who are publicly known are increasingly at risk.

In France alone this year, there have been several attempted and successful kidnappings; a data breach at Coinbase has likely increased the risk for many customers of the major US exchange. Bitcoin holders are ideal targets for kidnappers—they often have access to significant funds that can be freely and irreversibly transferred, without leaving any trace as to the recipient’s identity.

But how can kidnappings be insured? Basically, insurers can offer to reimburse the ransom. This type of policy, explains Andrew Kurz from Hylant Capital, is “insanely lucrative” because actual claims are rare, while the policies themselves are inexpensive enough to be attractive.

However, such policies are complex, explains Joseph Ziolkowski, CEO of Relm, a crypto insurer. His company is working on a kidnapping policy but is still developing methods to assess the physical security of the insured parties. There is also the significant risk that a client might only simulate a kidnapping in order to make a claim.

Ryyan Lackey, CEO of Evertas Insurance—a specialist insurer for digital assets—also announced a kidnapping policy. Part of this will likely be establishing a sort of best practice for how wealthy and well-known Bitcoiners can protect themselves: on the one hand physically—with bodyguards, cameras, dogs, and so on—and on the other hand, by communicating that they only have access to part of their coins. The majority should be stored in such a way that they cannot access it without the help of others.

“This has to be something widely adopted, so that even the dumbest possible kidnapper in the world knows about it, otherwise there’s no reason for them to believe you,” Lackey explains. “You’ll want to be known as someone who has this”—perhaps some kind of badge or marker that Evertas itself may issue?—“because it shows you don’t have access.”

This is the beneficial effect of insurance: Insurers don’t just profit by compensating people for losses—they do even better when they effectively prevent their customers from suffering losses in the first place.