Crypto High-Rollers Go Big on Bodyguards to Deter Kidnappers

Even before Coinbase Global Inc. disclosed that hackers had stolen the home addresses and account balances of its customers, Jethro Pijlman was seeing an uptick in interest from concerned clients with large crypto holdings who were looking for bodyguards and other forms of protection.

Pijlman works for an Amsterdam-based firm that provides physical security and intelligence services to cryptocurrency holders who have become worried about the wave of kidnappings that have hit the industry — the most recent of which occurred last week, when assailants tried to abduct the daughter and grandson of a French cryptocurrency executive.

“We’ve had more ...