No coins, no tickets? American teenagers armed took hostage in the crypto world, stealing 4 million dollars worth of encryption assets.

Three teenagers in the United States kidnapped a man who had just attended a crypto world event at gunpoint at the end of 2024, forcing him to reveal his password and stealing approximately 4 million dollars worth of Crypto Assets and NFTs. The victim walked more than 8 kilometers in the desert before successfully reporting the incident. Currently, two suspects have been arrested, but the third suspect is believed to have fled the United States. A preliminary hearing is scheduled to take place in June 2025.

November 2024: Just returned to the doorstep and was forced at gunpoint by someone.

The incident occurred in November 2024. The victim had just hosted a crypto world event in downtown Las Vegas and was preparing to go home to rest.

As soon as he entered the house, he was raided by three teenagers, threatened with guns, and drove to the desert, an hour's drive outside the city.

Threatened to hand over the password in the desert: "Your dad is in our hands"

After taking the victim to a remote area, the three teenagers threatened: "If you want to live, hand over the password."

He even threatened him, "Your father is in our hands, and if we don't cooperate, we will kill him." There was also a telephone at the scene, and it was suspected that a fourth person was remotely directing the entire operation.

After the crypto wallet was emptied, one could only walk 5 miles to seek help.

After the victim handed over the password, up to 4 million dollars worth of Crypto Assets and NFTs in the account were instantly drained. They were then abandoned in the desert, and the victim finally walked nearly 8 kilometers barefoot before successfully contacting a friend for help and calling the police at a gas station.

Two 16-year-old suspects have been apprehended, while another has fled the country.

Two 16-year-olds from Florida have been arrested by police on charges including kidnapping, robbery and extortion.

One person is currently in custody, with bail set at 4 million dollars.

Another person is monitored with electronic ankle bracelets and is temporarily placed at home.

The third suspect involved is suspected to have already escaped from the United States, and efforts are underway to track their whereabouts.

All three will be tried as adults, with a preliminary hearing expected to take place in June 2025.

The number of robbery cases in the crypto world increases year by year.

Digital asset lawyer Sasha Hodder also pointed out in a comment on May 10 that current crypto theft cases are no longer just social engineering attacks or SIM card hijacking, but have directly escalated into offline violent extortion. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in global crypto world robberies.

According to the tracking list created by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of the cryptocurrency security company Casa, the global offline crypto world robbery data is as follows:

2021: 32 cases

2023: 17 cases

2024: 28 cases

As of 2025: 21 incidents have occurred.

In addition to the United States, a kidnapping case occurred in early May 2025 in Paris, France, where the father of a crypto entrepreneur was held for several days until police intervened and rescued him. The kidnappers demanded 7.8 million dollars right from the start. Furthermore, in February 2025, a person from the crypto world in the UK escaped by jumping from a 9-meter high balcony.

A cold wallet won't save you; "personal protection" is the real key.

Cases like this remind everyone holding crypto assets that one cannot rely solely on cold wallets and seed phrases for safety.

In the future, when you have enough money, the real risks may come from threats in the real world. Therefore, learning how to protect yourself is key.

This article: No coins, no ticket? American teenagers armed and kidnapped crypto world individuals, 4 million magnesium Crypto Assets were all stolen, first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.