Physical Security for Crypto Wealth
Praetorian protects Bitcoin holders, Web3 founders, and digital asset families from wrench attacks, kidnapping, and physical extortion. We are physical security. We work alongside your custody and digital security stack, not against it.
Praetorian Executive Protection delivers physical security for crypto and digital asset holders. Coverage includes residential security, OPSEC review, OTC trade settlement protection, conference and event security, and travel. The agency is explicit about its lane. Praetorian is a physical-security specialist that partners with the client's existing custody and digital security stack, not a replacement for it.
The 2024 to 2025 wave of HNW crypto kidnappings made the physical side of crypto wealth a board-level concern for the principals living with it. Custody, multi-signature schemes, and hardware wallets solve digital risk. They do not solve the risk that someone shows up at your door with a wrench. Praetorian closes the physical gap that the digital stack cannot. The work starts with OPSEC, layers in residential and travel coverage, and scales up to active protection when the threat picture demands it.
Three Audiences, One Solution
This page is written peer-to-peer. We assume the reader knows more about crypto than we do. We also assume the reader knows less about physical security than we do. The two halves are complementary, not competitive.
Long-Term Holders
Individuals and families holding meaningful Bitcoin or digital asset balances, especially those whose holdings are public, inferred, or reported.
Web3 Founders and OTC Traders
Crypto-native founders, OTC traders, and venture investors who travel, attend conferences, and conduct in-person settlement.
Crypto Families
Spouses, children, and household members whose exposure is downstream of the principal's holdings and public presence.
Where Our Lane Ends
Praetorian is physical security. We do not custody assets, advise on key management, or replace your digital security provider. We work alongside the stack you already have.
OPSEC First
Most physical attacks on crypto holders start with a digital signal, a Twitter brag, a public wallet linked to a real name, an ENS tied to a passport. We start with the signal.
Florida and Miami
Florida is the geographic center of US crypto wealth. We are headquartered in Cocoa with operators across Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, and the Space Coast.
Confidentiality by Default
No client logos, no testimonials that compromise principals, no name-drops. Discretion is a structural commitment, not a marketing line.
Why Crypto Wealth Is a Physical Security Problem
Three structural facts make digital asset holdings a physical security problem. Transactions are irreversible, which removes the friction that keeps most financial crime non-violent. Public blockchains let attackers verify a balance before they act, which removes the uncertainty most kidnappers face. Asset transfer can be coerced in minutes from a single device, which compresses the time window of an attack. The xkcd 538 cartoon, where a $5 wrench beats any encryption scheme, was a joke a decade ago. It is now an attack pattern with documented case history.
How Attackers Build Target Lists
Target selection rarely starts in the physical world. It starts on Twitter, on conference attendee lists, in podcast guest histories, in ENS registries, in court filings, and in property records. The pattern is consistent. Public boast, identity link, residential address inference, schedule inference, action. Praetorian's first deliverable on most engagements is a documented OPSEC review covering the principal's digital footprint, the family members who anchor to that footprint, and the physical addresses inferred or exposed by it.
What Physical Protection Adds
Physical protection for crypto holders is layered against the attack pattern, not bolted on as a uniformed presence. Residential hardening reduces the value of address inference. Travel protocols reduce the value of schedule inference. OTC trade settlement protection reduces the value of the highest-risk transactional windows. Conference and event coverage reduces exposure during the predictable moments principals are physically locatable in public. Active protection is reserved for the windows where the threat picture warrants it. Most engagements never need active protection if the earlier layers are well-built.
Florida and the Miami Crypto Scene
Florida is the geographic center of US crypto wealth, and Miami specifically is a recurring node in the post-conference target-list reporting that has driven coverage since 2022. The combination of low income tax, asset privacy advantages, and a year-round event calendar concentrates principals in a way that creates inference patterns attackers exploit. Praetorian operates from this geography. We understand the residential picture, the hospitality footprint, and the airport patterns specific to crypto principals in Florida.
Working With Your Custody Provider
We do not replace BitGo, Anchorage, Fireblocks, Coinbase Prime, your multi-sig signers, or your hardware wallet partner. We work alongside them. Where the digital stack stops, the physical stack starts. The hand-off points, in-person device transfers, key ceremonies, OTC settlements, conference appearances, are exactly where physical protection adds the most leverage. Praetorian integrates with the digital security architecture you already have rather than asking you to rebuild it around us.
Services Included
Every Solution is scoped to the situation. The components below describe what a full engagement covers when the threat picture warrants the full picture.
OPSEC Review
Documented review of the principal's digital footprint, family-member exposure, residential and travel inference surface, and a prioritized remediation plan.
Residential Security
Residential assessment, perimeter and access control, alarm and camera audit, panic protocols, and a documented household response plan.
OTC Trade Settlement Coverage
In-person settlement protection for high-value transactions including device handoffs, key ceremonies, and signature events.
Conference and Event Security
Pre-event advance work, on-site discreet coverage, and egress planning for the predictable conference windows that anchor the crypto calendar.
Travel Security
Travel risk briefs, ground transportation vetting, hotel security review, and on-trip protection for domestic and international travel.
Active Close Protection
When the threat picture warrants it. Low-visibility close protection scaled to the specific risk window, then stepped back down.
From Intake to Sustained Coverage
Confidential Intake
We open with a confidential conversation. No questions asked. Establish the principal's profile, the household composition, the public footprint, the threat picture, and where the digital stack currently sits.
OPSEC Review
Praetorian delivers a written OPSEC review covering the digital footprint, address inference surface, schedule inference surface, and family-member exposure.
Layered Protection Plan
The plan is layered. Residential hardening, travel protocols, OTC and conference coverage, and active protection where the threat picture warrants it.
Integration With Digital Stack
We coordinate with the principal's custody provider, key management partners, and existing digital security vendors. Hand-off points and ceremony windows are where physical security adds the most leverage.
Sustained Coverage
Coverage adjusts as the threat picture and the calendar move. Programs scale up around conferences, major settlements, and travel windows, and step back down between them.
What Sets This Solution Apart
Self-Aware Positioning
We are not crypto-native and we do not pretend to be. Praetorian's lane is physical security. Crypto principals consistently report that this is the right model for the part of the problem we cover.
Florida Geography
Headquartered in Cocoa, with operators across Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, and the Space Coast. Florida is where most US crypto wealth concentrates and where most coverage is actually needed.
Confidentiality Structural
No client logos, no testimonials that compromise principals, no after-the-fact name-dropping. The discretion is a structural commitment.
Real Operational Authority
Christopher Smith led personal security for Jeff Bezos and the Amazon Board at Kennedy Space Center. The principal protection model is the same. The asset class is different.
Questions About This Solution
What is a wrench attack?
A wrench attack is the physical coercion of a crypto holder to transfer assets, named after the xkcd 538 cartoon. It is a low-tech bypass of any cryptographic security and the dominant attack pattern against HNW crypto principals since 2022. Documented cases include kidnapping, home invasion, and family-member coercion.
Do I need physical security if I hold a meaningful amount of crypto?
If your holdings are public, inferred from a wallet linked to your identity, or visible from your social media footprint, the threat picture is real. The first question is not how much protection. The first question is what your public exposure looks like and what an attacker could infer from it. The OPSEC review answers that.
Can you help with OTC trade settlement security?
Yes. In-person OTC settlements, device hand-offs, key ceremonies, and signature events are recurring high-risk windows for crypto principals. Praetorian provides advance work on the venue, discreet coverage during the settlement, and a documented egress plan.
How do you maintain my privacy?
Engagement is governed by a written agreement and a layered NDA structure. Praetorian does not publish client logos, testimonials, or specifics. Coverage is delivered low-profile. Documentation produced during the engagement is retained or returned to the principal per the engagement letter.
Do you work with my custody provider or signer set?
Yes. Praetorian works alongside whatever custody, multi-sig, and digital security stack you already have. We do not custody assets and we do not advise on key management. The leverage we add is at the physical hand-off points and the residential and travel windows.
Are crypto kidnappings actually happening in Florida?
Open-source reporting in 2024 and 2025 documents multiple cases in the United States, including incidents tied to Florida and post-conference target lists. We do not name living victims. The cases are public, the geography is consistent, and the pattern is the operational reality the service is built against.
The capabilities this Solution draws on. Each service page describes the doctrinal detail behind the engagement.
Protective Intelligence
OPSEC review, threat monitoring, and OSINT on the principal's public footprint.
Residential and Family Protection
Residential hardening, family-picture review, and documented response plans.
Executive Protection
Active close protection for the threat windows that warrant it.
Digital Threat Protection
Digital footprint reduction and data broker removal.
Browse the full Solutions index for every problem-focused program Praetorian builds.
Discreet Protection Through High-Conflict Divorce
Discreet protection for vulnerable spouses, children, and assets during high-asset and high-conflict divorces in Florida. Coordinated with your attorney.
Documented Executive Protection for Boards, Risk Officers, and K&R Compliance
Duty-of-care-compliant executive protection for public companies, family-controlled businesses, and Florida corporate headquarters. Documented for boards, insurers, and counsel.
Professional Protection for Stalking Victims
Professional protection for stalking victims in Florida when law enforcement and a protective order are not enough. Coordinated with your attorney, therapist, and LE.
Every Engagement Begins with a
Confidential Consultation
Get a professional 30-minute security assessment with a senior practitioner, not a salesperson.
Available 24/7. No questions asked. Secure results.
Request Your Security Assessment