Lan Zhanfei, a travel blogger with over 20 million followers on Douyin, was robbed.
Article author and source: ChainCatcher
Lan Zhanfei is not a stranger in the short video circle. He started as a game streamer and later shifted to travel content, with 26.63 million followers on Douyin and a considerable number on Weibo. He jokingly mentioned in a livestream that if he seriously pursued commercialization, he could earn nine figures in a year.
When Lan Zhanfei was held at knife point by a Chinese person in collusion with two Black individuals at a five-star hotel in South Africa, the incident sparked a familiar sense of fear among those in the crypto circle.
In recent years, from France to the UAE, from the U.S. to South America, kidnapping cases targeting holders of crypto assets have surged. Assets that do not rely on banks and can be transferred easily, combined with the fact that crypto tycoons often possess 'digitally staggering' wealth, have made them primary targets for certain criminal groups rather than 'random victims.' This also explains why the security budgets of big shots in the crypto circle are astonishing to traditional enterprises.
In the upcoming content, let's take a look at the security budgets of the big shots in the crypto circle.
Coinbase CEO
In the crypto circle, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's security spending budget should be among the top.
In the annual proxy statement submitted by Coinbase to the SEC in April 2025, it was disclosed that in 2024, Coinbase spent 6.2 million USD on Brian's personal security. Since 2020, Coinbase has cumulatively invested over 20 million USD in security expenses for him.
In other words, Brian spends nearly 20,000 USD a day when converted.
Brian's security procedures are detailed to a paranoid extent: including certified armed guards, secure accommodation arrangements, and residential security measures. All packages delivered to Brian's residence must undergo X-ray screening, and if suspicious items are detected, the security team will immediately initiate bomb disposal procedures.
This stringent process underwent a dramatic 'misunderstanding' test on July 12, 2025.
That day, Brian was not at home when a white unmarked van delivered a package. The security team followed standard procedures for an X-ray check of the package, and the screen displayed outlines of a battery, wires, and a cylindrical object, features highly consistent with the typical structure of an improvised explosive device. Security personnel immediately contacted local law enforcement, and a bomb squad quickly arrived on the scene to investigate.
After careful examination, the truth emerged: the package contained a tequila gift box from The All-In Podcast (@theallinpod), and the battery and wires visible in the X-ray were actually part of the design for the bottle's lighting device.
Although it was a misunderstanding, it indirectly proves that Coinbase's annual security expense of 6.2 million USD for Brian is very useful.
Michael Saylor
As the 'largest holding company of Bitcoin,' Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), had his security budget raised from 1.4 million USD to 2 million USD in October 2025.
The background for this adjustment is: from 2024 to 2025, there has been a surge in violent incidents against corporate executives, including the assassination attempt on the CEO of UnitedHealth Group and attacks on security personnel at Rudin Management.
In 2013, Michael Saylor's annual security expenses were only 58,000 USD, and at that time, some investors questioned 'why a software company CEO would spend so much on bodyguards.' However, since 2020, he has been frantically buying Bitcoin, and by 2025, the company had held over 580,000 BTC. This has caused Saylor's personal risk to skyrocket, and his security budget has now risen to 2 million.
Today, when Saylor attends events, he is accompanied by a personal bodyguard, armed driver, and private jet. In May and September 2025, he was spotted surrounded by bodyguards at several Bitcoin bars in New York. Although the exact size of the team has not been disclosed, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs Ayco, the standard configuration for similar executives typically includes at least one accompanying bodyguard and armed driver.
Saylor faces unique threats, including digital level attacks. In January 2024, his security team had to delete about 80 AI-generated deepfake videos daily, which impersonated Saylor promoting Bitcoin scams, luring users to scan QR codes to participate in fake 'Bitcoin doubling' activities. Saylor himself warned on social media, 'There is no such thing as a risk-free Bitcoin doubling method... My team deletes about 80 fake AI-generated YouTube videos daily... Do not believe it, verify it.'
This ongoing digital threat combined with the physical security needs explains why this Bitcoin billionaire requires such a large security investment.
Vitalik Buterin
In stark contrast to the high-grade security of Brian Armstrong and Saylor, the lifestyle of Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is the pinnacle of 'contrast art.'
Since obtaining permanent residency in Singapore in 2023, he has been living a minimalist lifestyle there: renting an apartment in Bukit Timah for around 5,000-7,000 SGD per month, commuting by subway, working in cafes, and even hand-washing clothes to save 4 USD in laundry costs. Despite having a net worth exceeding 1.1 billion USD, he appears no different from ordinary residents on the streets of Singapore, without bodyguards or attendants.
However, when attending events, organizers usually arrange some bodyguard teams for Vitalik to ensure his safety.
For instance, during the Devcon-related event in Thailand in December 2024, Bodyguard VIP Thailand provided a customized personal security plan for a group of crypto guests including Vitalik, with top local bodyguards. Additionally, in September 2024, a photo taken by a participant at a crypto conference showed Vitalik surrounded by several bodyguards and security measures.
However, it seems that most of the time, people do not see Vitalik with bodyguards. For example, at the ETHCC conference held in Brussels in July 2024, Vitalik arrived alone by bus in the rain, his clothes still wet during the speech, and left on foot afterward, without any bodyguards accompanying him throughout.
The greatest threat Vitalik faces is also on the digital level. In 2023, he suffered a SIM card swap attack, which reset his Twitter password and published a phishing NFT minting link, leading to the theft of approximately 700,000 USD in assets from Vitalik's fans. This incident has led him to continue discussing the dangers of SIM card swap attacks publicly, warning users to remove the phone number linked to their X account.
Justin Sun
Justin Sun, who usually acts a bit flamboyantly, also has a notable security setup, often accompanied by several burly bodyguards.
Especially during Brother Sun's trip to Hong Kong in June 2023, someone offered a huge bounty for slapping Brother Sun and throwing eggs at him. Therefore, against this backdrop, the four bodyguards accompanying Brother Sun received considerable discussion online, and one particularly fierce-looking and seemingly reliable bodyguard was even rated first.
Later, Brother Sun mentioned on social media that he mistakenly thought this bodyguard was Filipino, but it turned out to be a Nepalese Gurkha, one of the most famous mercenary systems in the world.
Brother Sun's security awareness is also very advanced, not only reflected in security but also in his protection of the privacy of his wealth.
On August 11, 2025, Brother Sun sued Bloomberg in the U.S. for violating a confidentiality agreement while compiling the billionaire index, revealing detailed cryptocurrency holdings he provided for wealth verification. This kind of detailed disclosure increases the risk of 'theft, hacking, kidnapping, and personal harm to him and his family' through wallet clustering analysis. He even cited Bloomberg's own reports as court evidence: 51 cases of crypto investors being violently coerced into handing over private keys occurred globally in 2025.
Zhao Changpeng
In contrast, the security details of Binance founder CZ have been less exposed.
Until the court ruling in the U.S. in 2024, some media discovered that among the 160 letters of support, a 'classmate' named Xin Wang claimed to be a friend of CZ from his youth and also his bodyguard. Xin Wang recalled his acquaintance with Zhao Changpeng at McGill University, stating that the young CZ was a 'bookish, bespectacled kid,' who has now grown into an 'older version' but retains a 'quiet, practical kindness.'
And this bodyguard is clearly not an ordinary security personnel; his colleague is the CEO of Bayview Acquisition Corp, providing merger and acquisition advice to financial institutions, licensed to practice law in California, England, and Wales, and appointed as an independent board member of Binance in April 2024. Such multiple identities are quite rare in the security field of the crypto industry.
Ethereum early co-founder Anthony
Another Ethereum co-founder, Anthony Di Iorio, has taken a radically different security approach, with around-the-clock security arrangements.
Perhaps because Anthony is a second-generation rich kid born into a wealthy family, or perhaps because as an early participant in Ethereum, the ETH he holds easily makes him a high-value target, while the self-custody nature of cryptocurrency assets means that traditional financial insurance cannot cover potential personal threats.
Thus, since 2017, he has employed a private bodyguard team, which accompanies him or waits at his destination regardless of where Di Iorio goes. In 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth to be between 750 million to 1 billion USD, ranking him among the top 20 wealthy individuals in the cryptocurrency field. That year, he bought Canada’s most expensive apartment for 22 million USD, a three-level penthouse, partially paid with digital currency, causing quite a stir.
Thus, it seems that in 2018, his security team also increased the budget, as witnesses observed him traveling with a 'small entourage including bodyguards,' and this around-the-clock security configuration continued until his exit.
In 2021, he announced his decision to 'liquidate' and exit the circle based on personal safety and other considerations, no longer funding any blockchain projects. He candidly stated, 'I do not feel safe in this industry... If I focus on bigger issues, I think I will be safer.'
Thus, he sold his company Decentral, severing major ties with blockchain startups, and turned to focus on philanthropy, avoiding being labeled as a 'cryptocurrency person.'
Circle CEO
Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire manages the USDC stablecoin, valued at 78 billion USD, and a publicly traded company worth 20 billion USD, making him a key figure in crypto financial infrastructure.
According to Circle's S-1 initial public offering document submitted on April 1, 2025, the company invested 800,000 USD in Allaire's personal security in 2024.
In the year when multiple 'crypto kidnapping cases' broke out in France, Dubai, Argentina, etc., this amount does not seem exaggerated. Multiple reports cited Circle's prospectus to confirm this figure.
