Revolut hack shows growing risk of holding crypto

A data breach at Revolut, in which hackers claim to have stolen the details of nearly 700 “crypto whale” accounts and are now demanding a $2m ransom, has reignited concerns about the traceability of digital assets and the risks of holding them.

On Wednesday, a note on the website of the hacker group iamnotavillain ordered the bank to pay “6,000 XMR” – shorthand for a notoriously hard-to-trace cryptocurrency called Monero – “otherwise all the data will be sold, and the blood will be on your hands”. Revolut said it had received no direct contact from the group, and it is not clear whether a ransom has been paid.

Despite the colourful threat, the attack on Revolut, which happened days before the bank announced that it would be seeking a dual stock market listing, in New York and London, is not likely to result in any bodily harm. However, physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders are no joke.

Data compiled by the Bitcoin security expert Jameson Lopp shows physical attacks on crypto-holding persons increased by 32% year on year in the first half of 2026, to 50 globally. They include a case in April when four men invaded a family home in Maidenhead, Berkshire, to demand crypto; and a case where armed men broke into the home of a crypto company chief executive near Nantes, in western France, and struck him on the head before being driven off by the alarm system.