Kidnapped WonderFi CEO released after paying $720k ransom

• Dean Skurka is the president and CEO of WonderFi, a Canadian crypto company
• Skurka was forced into a vehicle in downtown Toronto during rush hour
• He said that client funds and data remain safe and weren’t impacted by the kidnapping

The kidnapped CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency company WonderFi has returned safely after electronically transferring CAD$1 million ($720,000) to his captors.

On Wednesday, at around 6 p.m. during rush hour, Dean Skurka, the president and CEO of WonderFi, was forced into a vehicle in the area of University Avenue and Richmond Street W. in downtown Toronto, reports CBC.

Skurka was ordered to pay the ransom demand of CAD$1 million. He was later released in Centennial Park in Etobicoke, according to a source close to the investigation. Speaking about the kidnapping, Skurka said:

“The safety and security of all of WonderFi’s employees are paramount. Client funds and data remain safe, and were not impacted by this incident.”

According to Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief security officer of Casa, a security firm focused on protecting crypto users, Skurka’s kidnapping is the 171st case where violence has been used to target crypto holders.

Lopp said:

“As the [Bitcoin] price goes up, more awareness of the space permeates throughout society and as a result, more criminally minded people decide they want to try to figure out what the ROI of executing a physical attack against a known crypto holder is.”

The kidnapping comes at a time when Bitcoin is going through a price rise.

Yesterday, Bitcoin achieved a new all-time high of $76,677 on major crypto exchanges. The new price came amid the US Federal Reserve announcing a 25 basis points interest rate cut.

Earlier in the week, Bitcoin broke a new all-time high of $75,317 as voting results signalled a Donald Trump win for the White House.

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