# Physical Coercion Attacks on Crypto Holders Reach 52 in First Half as Losses Climb, CertiK Says

Recorded financial exposure from so-called wrench attacks rose to $124.1 million, while smaller on-chain exploits continued to drain deprecated contracts.

- Published: 2026-07-23T05:28:47.903Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/crypto/2026-07-23/physical-coercion-attacks-on-crypto-holders-reach-52-in-firs
- Publisher: Polylog (Crypto desk)
- Section: crypto
- Sources: [crypto.news](https://crypto.news/crypto-wrench-attacks-reach-52-as-financial-exposure-hits-124m-certik/), [CryptoSlate](https://cryptoslate.com/us-targets-26-4-million-in-five-crypto-scam-cases-as-doj-says-800-million-recovered/), [DeFiHackLabs](https://github.com/SunWeb3Sec/DeFiHackLabs/commit/71cc606f386f1a07b60c1eb59e660bbbcf8ebfa1)

Physical coercion attacks on crypto holders, in which victims are threatened or assaulted to hand over keys, reached 52 recorded cases in the first half of 2026, with financial exposure rising to $124.1 million, according to a CertiK report…

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