29-year-old Bitcoiner robbed and murdered in Kyiv for $200,000 in bitcoin

A 29-year-old Bitcoiner was kidnapped and killed hours ago in Kyiv, Ukraine, according to the Communication Department of the National Police and local reports. Four men aged 24 to 29 are now in custody for allegedly “carefully” preparing a plan to abduct the victim and steal three bitcoins worth around $207,000.

“Information about the man's abduction came to the capital's police around midnight. Residents of a house in Solomyansk district heard screams and saw several unknown people beating and forcibly putting a man in a car,” the police agency wrote in a statement (translated by Google). The officers’ investigation found that the attack was premeditated. 

Violent attacks on cryptocurrency holders are not uncommon — for instance, at the recent ETHcc in Brussels, several conference attendees were robbed. Many leading voices in the industry argue that physical safety should be treated as a part of the holder’s security setup. 

“Step up your OPSEC - I expect attacks to trend in correlation with the exchange rate,” OG Bitcoiner and Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp, who tracks violent assaults of crypto holders, wrote in 2020 after two people were murdered in Riga, Latvia. 

Lopp notes in his “bitcoiner’s guide to organized crime,” published earlier this month, that criminals typically identify victims through social media posts, public conversations, meetups, conferences and “complex data harvesting from known and unknown breaches.” 

“Privacy is an important aspect of security. While it’s not a complete solution to securing one’s wealth, it’s a good strategy to include in your security toolkit,” he wrote. “The general premise is that if criminals are less aware of you, they are less likely to target you.”

The alleged perpetrators in the Kyiv assault reportedly tracked down the foreign victim’s address as he was returning home around midnight.

“[T]hey beat him, forcibly dragged him to a car and took him to an abandoned building in the territory of Kyiv region,” the report reads. 

After draining the victim’s Bitcoin wallet, the alleged perpetrators strangled the man and buried his body in a forest.  

Police found the attackers changed the license plate of their car in an attempt to evade detection. Cash, which had been converted from the stolen bitcoins, and other evidence was recovered. 

The alleged attackers, who were taken into custody without the possibility of parole, have been charged with crimes related to premeditated murder, robbery and concealment. They are facing life sentences.