NYC property database privacy concerns spread among crypto executives
Crypto executives say searchable NYC property records could expose wealthy residents as physical attacks on crypto holders rise.
By Dev Ramirez · Crypto Correspondent
· 3 min read
The NYC property database privacy fight has turned a city tax-records issue into a security debate for wealthy residents and crypto investors. Crypto executives say public property information becomes more dangerous when it is cleaned up, centralized and made easy to search.
The controversy centers on New York City Department of Finance property data. The agency publishes assessed values each year for city properties, which are used to calculate property taxes. Its FY2027 assessment roll, supplemental market-value data and property tax guides are available through the city’s Open Data portal, according to the department.
Critics on X focused on the format, rather than the existence of public records. They argued that organizing owner names and property information into a searchable resource makes it much easier to identify people tied to expensive homes.
Why are crypto executives worried about the NYC property database?
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams said on X that the database amounted to “the worst mass doxxing I've ever seen.” Doxxing means publishing or gathering personal identifying information in a way that can expose someone to harassment, threats or other harm.
Adams said the database included nearly every unit in some high-end apartment buildings, including primary homes of people he knows. He argued that the project used an overly broad standard for properties that “could be” covered and ended up exposing a large share of expensive New York apartments.
Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz also criticized the database on X, calling it “unsettling.” He said much of the information may have already been public in scattered form, but that collecting and labeling it in one place effectively highlighted wealthy individuals.
Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter warned on X that an easy-to-search list of affluent property owners could function as a target list. Carter pointed to crypto-related kidnappings and violent attacks in France and Sweden as examples of the physical risks he sees around identifying wealthy crypto holders.
What is a crypto wrench attack?
A crypto “wrench attack” is a physical attack meant to force someone to hand over digital assets, often through threats, kidnapping, home invasion or assault. The term comes from the idea that attackers can bypass technical security by coercing the person who controls the wallet.
Blockchain security firm CertiK reported in February that there were 72 verified crypto wrench attacks worldwide in 2025. CertiK said that was up 75% from the previous year and involved more than $40.9 million in losses.
Authorities have brought several cases tied to alleged or confirmed physical attacks on crypto holders. In April, French authorities charged 88 suspects, including more than 10 minors, as part of a crackdown on violent crypto kidnappings. In May, U.S. prosecutors indicted three men accused 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 victims to transfer more than $8 million in crypto.
By July, CertiK said attackers had carried out 52 verified crypto wrench attacks in the first half of 2026. The firm said recorded financial exposure reached $124 million, nearly twelve times the level from the same period a year earlier.
The clash leaves New York’s public-records system facing a sharper question: how to preserve access to tax and ownership information without making it easier to map wealth to home addresses at scale.
This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.
