Insurance companies look to cash in on crypto-kidnapping fears

A recent string of assaults and kidnappings targeting people rich in cryptocurrency is heightening fears among investors about their physical safety.

A recent string of horrific assaults and kidnappings targeting people rich in cryptocurrency is heightening fears among investors about their physical safety — and insurance companies are hoping to cash in.

At least three companies that provide insurance and security services specifically tailored for cryptocurrency holders and companies are working to come up with insurance policies for those who fear physical violence and kidnapping, called kidnap and ransom (K&R) policies, they told NBC News.

Rebecca Rubenfeld, the chief operating officer of AnchorWatch, a crypto insurance firm that’s working to begin offering kidnapping and ransom protection by this fall, said that fear of violence was a major topic at this week’s annual Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas.

“They’re tense,” Rubenfeld told NBC News. “I’m not saying that because I’m trying to sell insurance, but overall, the mood is a very good environment for me.”

The earliest reports of physical attacks on Bitcoin holders date back more than a decade, with dozens reported in the news media. But recent brutal attacks — of an Italian tourist tortured for weeks in Manhattan for access to his bitcoin, and a string of crypto executives and their family members kidnapped in France — have left many crypto holders particularly rattled.