LOPP’S WRENCH ATTACK LIST WENT FROM 363 TO 701 — USDT CASES ROSE FROM 15 TO 92, BITCOIN FROM 109 TO 168

On Oct. 16, 2026, Jameson Lopp merged an import into his public list of physical attacks on crypto holders. The list lives in one file, attacks.json. Before the merge it held 363 entries. After it, 701. Bitcoin.com News reported 702 and said the list “more than doubled.” By the file, it grew 1.93 times. Most of the new cases came from Pizza Bitcoiner’s database, which says it searched local-language press in about thirty languages.

Count what the entries say and the list changes shape. Before the merge, 109 of 363 entry headlines named bitcoin or BTC, and 15 named USDT or tether. After it, 168 name bitcoin and 92 name USDT. Net, that is 59 more bitcoin cases and 77 more USDT cases. Most of the rest just say crypto. Taiwan went from 1 entry to 51, now third behind France (85) and the United States (77). Of Taiwan’s 51, 37 name USDT and 1 names bitcoin. Several describe people robbed or taken after cash trades for USDT.

None of this makes the threat smaller. Pizza Bitcoiner’s database counts 31 cases where at least one person was killed and 413 where a victim was held against their will. Bitcoin.com wrote “31 reported deaths.” The database counts cases, not deaths. A wrench attack is about keys. Someone wants a transfer, and they want it before you can say no.

But a list people cite as the bitcoin wrench attack record now mostly counts other coins and people known to carry cash. The good news is that it is one public file anyone can count. Holders sizing their own risk should count the cases that match how they hold, not the headline total. At the time of this writing, bitcoin was $81,513.