Crypto Robbery Rattles Investors

The recent bitcoin sell-off wasn’t the only cause for alarm among crypto investors this week. Many were rattled by news that a tech investor was robbed of $11 million worth of crypto at his home. Doorbell camera footage shows someone posing as a delivery worker approaching the home, accessible on street level in Mission Dolores, and asking for “Joshua,” who opened the door. They then asked to borrow a pen and followed the victim into the home. 

The investor—whom we’re not naming, to protect his privacy—was bound with duct tape and forced at gunpoint to give up his cellphone and laptop, containing the digital keys to his crypto accounts, the SF Standard reported. The episode highlights a major vulnerability of crypto accounts compared with bank accounts. A robber trying to shift large amounts of money out of a bank account will typically encounter questioning by the bank and often a delay of a few days—whereas crypto can be moved instantaneously. That’s of course one of the advantages of crypto over traditional bank accounts, proponents have long argued. But as the Saturday robbery demonstrates, it can work against crypto investors.