Inside Israel’s brutal $600,000 Bitcoin torture scheme

The assailant violently robbed A Tel Aviv resident has about $600,000 worth of cryptocurrencies stored at his home.

The victims were detained and tortured until they handed over their digital wallet passwords. The perpetrator was subsequently arrested and charged with the crime.

Violent crypto heist shocks Israel

Israel experienced one of its most heinous crypto-related crimes last month after three suspects followed a man to his home, detained him and tortured him until he handed over his bitcoins, stablecoins and cryptocurrency wallets.

The main suspect, Murad Mahaina, a Tel Aviv resident, allegedly planned to rob a Herzliya resident after learning that the victim was in possession of Bitcoin. According to reports, on September 7, Mahaina and two other suspects were waiting at the entrance to the victim’s apartment.

When the victim arrived, the three forced him inside. Once inside, they tied his hands behind his back with a cable and beat him, the charges say. When the victim refused to open his digital wallet, one of the assailants allegedly stabbed him twice.

At that moment, the victim surrendered his belongings. According to reports, the robbers stole a large amount of cryptocurrencies totaling $547,260 in Bitcoin and approximately $42,248 in USDT.

They also took a Rolex watch worth about $50,000, a Trezor cryptocurrency wallet, a laptop, about 5,000 euros in euros and several thousand shekels in cash.

Mahaina was arrested three days later.

Wrench attacks increase with Bitcoin price

Several incidents were recorded, making 2025 the worst year for crypto theft.

A recent Chainalysis report revealed that by mid-2025, the amount of crypto stolen year-to-date has increased by 17% over the total stolen in 2022, the worst year on record. Analysts predict that if current interest rates continue, the total amount of stolen funds could exceed $4 billion by the end of the year.

The report points to the worrying trend that breaches of personal wallets are now a growing cause of theft. This shows that attackers are increasingly focused on individual users.

Cryptocurrency-related violent attacks are on the rise. Source: Chainalysis.

The data also suggests that “wrench attacks,” which force crypto holders to surrender their funds through physical violence or intimidation, are correlated with Bitcoin price fluctuations. This trend suggests that attackers target individuals during periods of high asset value.

Although these types of violent assaults are relatively rare, the human cost and severity of these incidents is greatly increased by the fact that they involve physical harm, including serious injury, kidnapping, and death.

Kidnapped for the Keys: Inside Israel’s Brutal $600,000 Bitcoin Torture Scheme appeared first on BeInCrypto.