NYC Property Database Draws Crypto Executive Backlash Over Security Risks
In brief
- Searchable database aggregates NYC public property records, enabling identification of wealthy residents
- Crypto executives including Uniswap founder Hayden Adams warn of mass doxxing risks
- Violent crypto attacks surged 75% in 2025, with losses exceeding $124 million in H1 2026
The Database and the Backlash
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams called the database "the worst mass doxxing I've ever seen," noting that it listed nearly every unit in some luxury apartment buildings, including primary residences of people he knows. The core issue, critics argue, isn't that the records are public—they always have been. What's changed is the aggregation and organization.
Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz called the database "unsettling" and said it crossed a line by transforming scattered public records into a centralized resource. "While this data was largely public prior to this in a messy way they have cleaned it, organized it, singled out 'the rich,' and mass distributed it," he said in a statement.
Violent Crypto Attacks Are Rising
The concern isn't abstract. Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter warned that an easily searchable database of affluent property owners could make potential victims easier to identify, pointing to recent crypto-related kidnappings and violent attacks in Europe. "So this is a list of wealthy people and their addresses. As we've seen in France and Sweden this leads to crypto kidnappings, torturings and murders," he said.
The data backs the concern. CertiK reported 72 verified crypto 'wrench attacks' worldwide in 2025, up 75% from the previous year, resulting in more than $40.9 million in losses. The trend accelerated into 2026. By July, CertiK said attackers had already carried out 52 verified crypto "wrench attacks" in the first half of 2026, with recorded financial exposure surging nearly twelvefold year over year to $124 million.
International law enforcement has taken notice. In April, French authorities charged 88 suspects, including more than 10 minors, in a sweeping crackdown on violent crypto kidnappings. In May, U.S. prosecutors indicted three men accused of carrying out a series of armed home invasions across California that allegedly stole millions of dollars in cryptocurrency. In June, two Texas brothers pleaded guilty to kidnapping a Minnesota family and forcing the victims to transfer more than $8 million in crypto.
The question now is whether aggregating public data—however legally permissible—creates a new category of risk that deserves scrutiny.
