Crypto CEO kidnapped with $1M ransom as Bitcoin hits record highs

A CEO for one of the biggest Crypto companies in Canada was kidnapped and forced to pay a $1 million ransom amid record-high Bitcoin prices.

Dean Shurka, the president and CEO of crypto firm WonderFi, was kidnapped and held for ransom in Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. 

Via the initial reporting from CBC News, the Toronto Police Service confirmed that Shurka was forced into a vehicle and kidnapped near University Avenue and Richmond Street in the early evening by multiple suspects who then made a demand for money.

The CEO was released after a ransom of $1 million was paid electronically and police found Shurka in Centennial Park, uninjured.

The CEO of @WonderFi was kidnapped in downtown Toronto yesterday and held until a $1M ransom was paid for his release.https://t.co/rAW7s6LaIw

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) November 7, 2024

The WonderFi president emailed CBC a statement confirming his safety. Furthermore, the company confirmed to BetaKit that clientele data has not been compromised.

“[WonderFi] is providing its full cooperation to the Toronto Police Service on this active investigation,” a spokesperson of Shurka’s revealed to BetaKit.

 “The company can confirm that client funds and data remain safe, and were not impacted by this incident. Our top priority is ensuring our employees’ safety.”

WonderFi is the owner of two of Canada’s most popular crypto exchanges, Bitby and Coinsqaure. Furthermore, the company also owns crypto payments platform SmartPay and has a stake in Tetra Trust, a crypto custodian.

This incident comes just as the price of Bitcoin hits a new high, and as a result, the number of crypto-related extortions and thefts has increased.

Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief security officer at US security firm Casa, discussed this growing problem in comments made to CBC News.

“They [cryptocurrencies] are incredibly easy to transport, incredibly easy to take possession of from someone in comparison to a bank or an armored truck,” Lopp began. 

“The average crypto person, even early adopters who may be multi-millionaires, tend not to have really great physical security, and often they don’t have great operational security or privacy.”

Police later confirmed that the investigation into Shurka’s kidnapping is ongoing and, at the time of writing, have not released any further details regarding the incident.