Russia arrests man who detonated grenade in cryptocurrency exchange robbery

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Russia arrests man who detonated grenade inside cryptocurrency exchange Original Link: The St. Petersburg police in Russia arrested a 21-year-old man last Saturday (22) who broke into a cryptocurrency exchange located in an aparthotel on Khersonska Street in St. Petersburg. According to reports from local media, the Russian detonated two airsoft grenades and activated a smoke bomb before demanding that the staff transfer all available assets to his wallet.

Experts who examined the debris from the explosion said that the suspect used imitation airsoft grenades, which create commotion without real destructive force.

According to the report, patrol officers and security agents detained the suspect, seized two airsoft grenades, and now regional authorities are assessing preventive measures, given that he faces serious charges of robbery.

Cryptocurrency-related violence increases

The thwarted robbery occurs amid a worrying global trend of violent attacks against cryptocurrency investors, known as “wrench attacks” in the sector.

“We expect the situation to worsen by 2026, unless privacy tools and global coordination of law enforcement are rapidly scaled up,” said David Richards, CEO of the analysis company BlockchainUnmasked.

Recent attacks have become deadly; earlier this month, the convicted Russian cryptocurrency scammer Roman Novak and his wife Anna were murdered in the United Arab Emirates after men posing as investors demanded access to their cryptocurrency wallets.

Last Saturday, a resident of San Francisco lost $11 million in cryptocurrencies after a fake delivery person bound him with tape and forced him to hand over his digital wallet information.

“The victim reported that she was physically restrained by the suspect and suffered financial loss,” said Paulina Henderson, public information officer of the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), adding that no arrests have been made in the ongoing active investigation.

Meanwhile, in British Columbia, a family suffered torture with simulated drowning and sexual assault during a home invasion in April 2024, which netted the assailants $1.6 million in Bitcoin.

A court decision from the Provincial Court revealed that the attackers tied up the victims and threatened to cut off the husband's genitals, demanding access to their cryptocurrencies.

Cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek said that investigators typically pursue multiple lines of inquiry simultaneously when responding to attacks on cryptocurrency investors.

“The harsh truth is that identifying suspects is often much easier than recovering stolen cryptocurrencies,” he said.

Experts advise cryptocurrency holders to avoid posting information about their assets on social media and to implement multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of becoming targets.