What’s with all the crypto deaths?  – Cointelegraph Magazine

Last month, Bulgarian plumbers were called in to clear clogged drains in an apartment building in the capital Sofia.

The result of the blockage is yes The decomposing body of 41-year-old American cryptocurrency tycoon Christian Peev (Christian Peev) was allegedly beaten to death with dumbbells by a friend out of jealousy.

A few weeks ago, a group of children stumbled upon the body of missing cryptocurrency millionaire Fernando Pérez Algaba in a river in the province of Buenos Aires. Police said he was shot three times before being stuffed into a suitcase, pointing the finger at organized crime.

These are just the latest two in a 10-month string of cryptocurrency-related deaths that includes a helicopter crash in France, a fatal stabbing in the United States and a suspected suicide in South Korea, among others.

So, what links the deaths of grizzly bears around the world?

Organized crime is to blame

Ken Gamble, co-founder and executive chairman of financial crime intelligence firm IFW Global, told the magazine that many of these deaths may be linked to the rise of organized crime and the use of cryptocurrencies to launder money.

“Cryptocurrency-related crime is worse than ever. Using cryptocurrency to launder money is now the top modality for every organized crime group on the planet.”

Gamble’s organization in May take Fighting against a billion dollar call center fraud syndicate in Malaysia. Over the years, his firm has investigated various criminal organizations in Asia and Europe.

“What’s happening is these organized crime groups, especially the Chinese, are suddenly getting a lot of money. They have more money than ever before,” Gamble said.

“They’ve made so much money that it’s become extremely dangerous (…) They now have to reach out to more groups and more people to try and move money — expanding their ability to launder money,” he added.

According to Gamble, this inevitably leads to confusion among cryptocurrency holders with the wrong crowd.

Penalties for failed transactions

Matt Hussey, former editorial director of Near Protocol and founder of encryption media company Decrypt, has also been trying to get to the bottom of the murder.

on May 19 blog Hussey argued on LinkedIn that some of the killings were the result of disgruntled investors taking matters into their own hands, and blamed “the fuzzy territory cryptocurrencies continue to operate.”

“Because cryptocurrency straddles the legal and illegal worlds, many see it as something law enforcement won’t set foot in. So, for some, retribution and revenge is their only recourse,” he said.

In April, a 48-year-old woman was kidnapped and murdered in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam district, with the attackers allegedly trying to retaliate against a failed cryptocurrency investment scheme.

In March, a self-proclaimed “Crypto King” of Canada was arrested kidnapped He was reportedly beaten for more than three days after he defrauded investors of millions of dollars. At least one of his alleged kidnappers was among dozens of investors who lost money as a result of the alleged fraud. Fortunately, the man survived.

“There are people who have been targeted for holding crypto or engaging in some shady transactions (…) There have been robberies, people have been murdered for holding crypto,” Gamble added.

Cryptocurrency holders are easy targets

Some of the deaths may simply be because wealthy cryptocurrency millionaires are seen as easy targets as the cost of living continues to rise.

“Cryptocurrencies are easy to move and easy to steal. Try walking into a bank and withdrawing some money. Yes, good luck. But beat the crap out of someone and drill holes in them? You have a chance to get away with it ,” Hersey wrote.

Gamble said there is “no question” that groups are targeting people with large amounts of cryptocurrency.

“Organized criminals are going after cryptocurrency because it’s not money in the bank; it’s cryptocurrency. It’s a cryptocurrency that can be taken from someone — just like cash. “

“You can steal their credentials and pack their laptops, and if you know their passwords, then you actually get their money.”

Or, it has nothing to do with cryptocurrencies

Of course, it’s also possible that most of the deaths had nothing to do with cryptocurrencies or nefarious people.

Of the 10 reported deaths since November 2022, only the murder of a woman in Seoul’s Gangnam district is seen as a direct result of cryptocurrencies. None of the reports mention any cryptocurrency being stolen by suspected attackers.

Not to mention, the deaths of three of them weren’t even considered potential homicides.

At the same time, one could also argue that the rise in reported deaths is simply the result of increased mainstream coverage of cryptocurrencies.

Since the crypto industry witnessed the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in November 2022, the number of cryptocurrency deaths reported by mainstream media has increased from less than one case per year to at least 10.

data compiled Data from PR firm Vuelio shows that after the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, the total number of cryptocurrency stories pushed by traditional media surged, sometimes surpassing the number of stories written by cryptocurrency media.

Arguably, news stations have learned more and more about cryptocurrencies over the past year. Someone dying or being murdered somewhere in the world is unlikely to make headlines, but someone dying because of their ties to the so-called shadowy crypto world? You bet it will grab headlines.

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Felix Wu

Felix Ng first started writing about the blockchain industry in 2015 through the lens of a gambling industry reporter and editor. He has since started reporting on the blockchain space full-time. He is most interested in innovative blockchain technologies designed to solve real-world challenges.