The South Korean police have uncovered a criminal ring that offers revenge services to clients, with every job paid for in crypto.
“We will take revenge in your behalf” As Long As You Pay In Crypto
Red paint on the door. Human waste on the stairwell. Defamatory leaflets scattered through the building. A Telegram channel with self destructing messages offering revenge “on demand” for any interested vindictive crypto-owner. This is not the premise of a Korean action movie, but an actual case the Korean police is currently investigating.
South Korean outlets reported on Monday that the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency have now linked at least six similar “revenge attacks” across cities like Hwaseong, Uiwang, Gunpo, Pyeongtaek and Paju, all allegedly commissioned over private Telegram channels and funded with small crypto payments. None of the crimes have yet been reported in Seoul, according to the police.
Price offers include around $325 in crypto to blanket a neighborhood with flyers falsely branding men as child sex offenders or women as prostitutes. For up to roughly $1,300, you can go for more extreme harassment, like smearing human waste on doors and stairwells, gluing locks, and aggressive graffiti.
Inside Some Of The Grueling Crypto Revenges
On February this year, the Gyeonggi police arrested two men in their 20s in two separate cases, for breaking into multi-unit dwelling, scattering food waste and human feces on apartment front doors and spray-painting them and posting threatening flyers, Dong-A Ilbo claims. Both men confessed they carried out the attacks after being paid 600,000 to 800,000 won in cryptocurrency by an anonymous “boss” they had connected with on Telegram.
In January, the police pulled off a rare move by arresting an entire four‑person crew, including a ringleader in his 30s. In a particularly brazen twist, they allegedly hired a man in his 40s under the guise of a consulting role at a Baedal Minjok outsourcing firm to steal the personal data they needed. Investigators say he went on to access more than 1,000 individuals’ details for purposes unrelated to customer support.
Nobody in the chain knows each other’s real identities.
According to JoongAng Ilbo, the criminal rings advertised for customers through the social network X, with slogans like: “We will take care of even your most unspeakable problems, from bank‑account blackmail and infidelity to school bullying offenders and scam victims, in a satisfying way.”
Reporters Kim Jeong-jae and Han Chan-woo actually contacted some of this operators to uncover the working methods of the organizations. One of this brokers told them that they don’t carry out actual killings, but will resort to physical assaults if needed. The broker laid out four main revenge tactics: fabricating criminal allegations, cutting off the target’s financial access, wrecking their reputation within their social circle, and staging accidents that cause bodily harm. The claim went as far as assuring they could pin unsolved crimes on the chosen victim and even push cases far enough that the person ends up with a prison sentence or a hefty fine.
Reporter Kim Kang-woo for the Kiho Ilbo explained their modus operandi meticulously. Members of the organizations recruit perpetrators using bait such as “high-paying part-time jobs.” The handlers supplied details like the victims’ home addresses and common entrance codes, along with step‑by‑step instructions for the job. The attackers carry out the crimes mostly at dawn, when streets are quiet. They take care to avoid cameras by wearing hats and masks to hide their faces from nearby CCTV. Afterward, they snap “proof” photos of the damage on their phones and sent the images back to their superiors.
What This Means For The Market
South Korea is not the only country suffering from very dark crypto-linked crimes. Famous cases include the 2015 Silk Road saga, with its developer Ross Ulbritch being sentenced to life in prison for building a dark web platform where users could purchase drugs and other illicit services using Bitcoin. He was later granted a pardon by US President Donald Trump in January 2025.
The North Korea‑affiliated Lazarus Group has funneled billions of dollars in stolen money through cryptocurrency networks.
As South Korean police hunt for the still‑unknown masterminds and brokers, these cases become fresh ammunition for politicians who want tougher controls on self‑custody, mixers and privacy tools. Every lurid headline about crypto‑funded harassment helps justify stricter travel‑rule enforcement, tighter exchange surveillance and potentially harsher penalties for non‑compliant platforms. This trends can affect liquidity, on‑ramps and volatility even if the underlying use‑cases are tiny in value terms.
Serious traders should treat this as a sentiment and regulation signal. The more crypto is linked to cheap, personalised violence, the stronger the case for intrusive oversight.
Cover image from Perplexity, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
