I’ve never trusted Bitcoin. Maybe it’s because I don’t fully understand it. Let’s be honest, most people don’t. Or maybe it’s because I’ve always believed a currency that operates outside the traditional banking system with no paper trail opens the floodgates for corruption. From ransomware attacks on hospitals to shady political donations and crypto scams, the red flags have been there for years. But a story out of New York City today takes it to a whole new, horrifying level.
According to reports from the Citizen app (video below) and The New York Times, a 28-year-old Italian tourist was kidnapped, tortured and held hostage for three weeks inside a $30,000-a-month luxury townhouse in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood … all for his Bitcoin password. Yes, you read that right.
Two Arrested, One Still at Large After Italian Tourist Held, Tortured for Two Weeks in Pricey Nolita Rental @CitizenApp
22 Prince St Yesterday 10:33:09 AM EDT
The alleged mastermind? A 37-year-old cryptocurrency investor named John Woeltz, originally from Kentucky. Authorities say Woeltz, along with an unidentified accomplice and another suspect, lured the Italian man into the high-end rental on May 6, confiscated his passport and electronics and demanded the keys to his digital fortune. When the man refused, the situation turned nightmarish.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim was beaten, electrocuted with wires, threatened at gunpoint and even suspended over a stairwell in the five-story home as his captors demanded access to his Bitcoin wallet. They told him they would kill his family. They bound his wrists. They took Polaroids of the abuse. The victim eventually escaped on Friday morning, running into the street and flagging down a traffic agent. He is now recovering at Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
When police raided the townhouse shortly after, they found a firearm, torture devices and photographic evidence of the assault. They also found two butlers working inside the home who have since cooperated with investigators.
Also arrested was Beatrice Folchi, whose role in the twisted plot is still unclear. A third suspect, the so-called “unapprehended male,” remains at large.
It’s the kind of story that sounds like a movie plot but it’s real. And it reinforces something I’ve long believed: Bitcoin isn’t just confusing. It can be dangerous. The promise of privacy and decentralization might sound appealing to tech bros and libertarians but when your money exists in the cloud and can be accessed with a single password, you become a target.
And unlike a credit card transaction or wire transfer, once your Bitcoin is gone, it’s gone. No bank to call. No fraud department to intervene. No traceable trail for law enforcement to follow unless you’re lucky enough to survive and escape.
This isn’t the first time crypto wealth has put lives at risk. Several high-profile executives in the industry have been kidnapped or killed in recent years. It’s a trend that highlights just how vulnerable people are when enormous unregulated sums of money are floating around in digital wallets that can be cracked open with a string of numbers and, it turns out, a little blood.
Crypto enthusiasts like to tout Bitcoin as the future of money. But stories like this one are a brutal reminder of the dark underbelly of this “financial revolution.” Because the price of Bitcoin isn’t just volatile. It can be deadly.
For me, I’ll stick to currencies backed by actual institutions and protected by something stronger than a password. I’ll also be kicking myself for not buying $10 of Bitcoin in 2010. Did you know that a programmer spent $25 for 10,000 Bitcoin back then and famously traded them for two Papa John’s pizzas. That transaction was worth just $25 at the time. Today 10,000 Bitcoin would be valued at over $1 billion. That’s why every May 22 is now famously celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day. Ouch.
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