The victim did sustain some injuries; however, none were severe. He was treated at a hospital. “We are still investigating this matter. The descriptions we have at this time are very minimal: four Black males, all wearing dark clothing and face masks. The vehicle was described as a van. The information remains vague at this stage, so if anybody has any details or has witnessed a suspicious vehicle—specifically a van—please contact police,” officer Iden detailed.

Physical Attacks on the Rise: The New Landscape

I spoke with Lopp to better understand the new landscape security for digital assets investors are facing. “The security landscape is constantly changing, it is just an aspect of the ecosystem that any prudent investor should stay on top of since this asset class is highly unforgiving of mistakes,” Lopp told me in an interview.

With this transformation into a more serious asset and with the alarming criminal numbers we are witnessing, is Bitcoin becoming too risky for investors? “Bitcoin is riskier in some ways and less risky in other ways,” Lopp stated.

“For example, if you just want price exposure then the ETFs are a relatively safe vehicle for doing so. You trade off things like social engineering risk and poor key management risk for the risk that the custodian may fall victim to such attacks or losses,” the developer argued.

For Lopp, it could be said that investing in bitcoin is riskier because “it is more valuable”, hence there are more felons pursuing “to take it away from you”. But, on the other hand, bitcoin is an asset with over 15 years of history and development, and security has been improved. “We have also greatly improved our security best practices over the years to counteract the savvier attackers,” CASA’s CSO detailed.

“The riskiest thing someone can do is to jump into bitcoin before they are sufficiently educated about the risks,” Lopp concluded.

Best Practices to Avoid Physical Attacks for Bitcoin Investors

Coming from a troubled economy with serious problems of personal security, I will share some of the best practices I have learned. Even when I do not hold large amounts of BTC, this will be helpful.

First of all, do not be “the Bitcoin guy”. The era of evangelists is over. Maybe in 2016 or before, it was fine to parrot the Bitcoin gospel among your family and friends. But back then, BTC was 100 times less valuable. Right now, being known mainly for holding bitcoin could make you a target. If you must be that person because of your job, be discreet and be the Bitcoin guy only when and where it is necessary.

Then, avoid posting your BTC holdings on social media. It sounds obvious because you don0t post your bank account statements, but high‑profile people like adult content creator Amouranth show why keeping your BTC as a property you hold without flaunting is key. In March of this year, she suffered a violent home invasion in Houston and attackers demanded bitcoin. You do not need to brag. Bitcoin is digital property, and unless you say you have it, nobody knows.

If your amount of BTC is really significant and you prefer self custody, learn how to improve your setup. You need to secure the seeds that grant access to your bitcoin, and you can strengthen this by adding a passphrase. Store that information securely. Imagine that your bitcoin could be worth ten times more and act accordingly.

If you want to level up security while maintaining custody, there are different options. You can use multisigs with signing devices that are geographically separated. Multisig wallets require more than one key to authorize a transaction, and using devices in different locations adds an extra layer of protection.

You can also use dedicated hardware that is securely formatted and stored, and hard to access. But in general, do not make the setup so difficult that you cannot access it yourself. Be cautious but smart when setting these things up.

Delegated custody through custodians or exchanges, and bitcoin exposure through ETFs and similar products are other options. But in that case, you miss one of BTC’s key features: the ability to store and custody it yourself.

As Bitcoin becomes more known and discussed, as it grows in importance on a global scale, physical attacks might become more common. But this should not discourage you from using or investing in it. You need to be proactively cautious and these recommendations may help you prevent such incidents.