The crypto world is facing a threat that goes far beyond hackers and cyberattacks. In recent months, in fact, a much more direct and violent phenomenon has been spreading rapidly: physical attacks against crypto investors and operators.
In response to this escalation, Binance has introduced a new security feature called “Withdrawal Protection”, that is, temporary protection against withdrawals.
The new feature allows users to block outgoing crypto transfers from their account for a period between one and seven days.
The default setting provides for a 48-hour freeze, during which the account remains usable for trading and normal access, but no assets can be transferred to external wallets.
Summary
How does Binance’s withdrawal protection work?
The measure comes at a particularly delicate time for the entire crypto ecosystem. According to several security reports, in 2025 physical coercion attacks against cryptocurrency holders have increased dramatically.
It is no longer just about phishing or digital theft, but real kidnappings, assaults, and home invasions organized to force victims to sign transactions or hand over access to wallets.
The so-called “crypto wrench attack,” a term increasingly used in the industry, describes precisely this type of violence: instead of trying to cryptographically break into a wallet, criminals physically threaten the owner.
It is a dynamic that highlights one of the paradoxes of decentralized finance. The more value is held directly by users, the greater the risk that they become real targets in the offline world.
Binance has explained that the new feature was designed specifically to create a temporary protection window in emergency situations.
If a user is forcibly compelled to hand over access to their account, the withdrawal lock still prevents funds from being immediately transferred off the platform.
France becomes the symbol of the crisis
The numbers tell an increasingly worrying story. According to the public tracker managed by security researcher Jameson Lopp, since 2014 there have been over 300 documented cases of kidnappings and ransom demands linked to cryptocurrencies.
In 2025 alone, 79 such attacks were reportedly recorded, while 2026 had already surpassed 27 in the first months of the year.
CertiK has also reported a significant increase in verified cases. Incidents of physical coercion are said to have risen by 75% during 2025, while attacks directly linked to violent assaults reportedly jumped by as much as 250%.
Among all the countries involved, France has emerged as one of the main epicenters of the phenomenon. French authorities are said to have recorded 135 incidents since 2023, with a clear acceleration over the past two years.
In 2025 alone, 67 cases were reportedly reported, while in 2026 the numbers continue to grow rapidly.
The situation has become so serious that the French judiciary has already indicted dozens of people in operations against organized networks specialized in crypto thefts.
According to reports, minors involved in criminal activities are also among those under investigation.
The issue became even more sensitive after the attempted kidnapping of David Prinçey, a figure linked to Binance France. Specifically, it appears that some armed men tried to reach him at his home in Val-de-Marne at the beginning of 2026.
Prinçey was not at home at the time of the attack, but the incident contributed to raising alarm within the industry.
These events are profoundly changing how the crypto sector perceives the concept of security. For years, the debate has focused almost exclusively on digital custody, seed phrase protection, and software vulnerabilities.
Today, however, a new awareness is emerging, as even the best cryptographic system becomes useless if the owner is physically threatened.
Binance’s new protection divides the crypto sector
The feature introduced by Binance represents a concrete attempt to address this new reality, but it has not been without criticism.
The system is in fact not based on a decentralized or cryptographic mechanism, but on the exchange’s internal infrastructure. In other words, the withdrawal lock exists because Binance decides to apply it to users’ accounts.
This detail opens up an important debate within the crypto community. Part of the sector sees such tools as a necessary pragmatic evolution, especially for less experienced users and for those who use centralized platforms.
Others instead see these solutions as confirmation that custodial exchanges still require trust in a central intermediary, going against the original philosophy of cryptocurrencies.
There is also an obvious limitation: the lock cannot stop potential orders from law enforcement and does not protect users who store assets in fully self-custody wallets.
For this reason, some experts believe that the problem will require broader solutions, including advanced privacy, multi-signature systems, and increasingly sophisticated personal security tools.
