Brazilian lawmaker proposes gun licences for crypto investors facing physical attack risk

Federal deputy Capitão Alden (PL-BA) has filed a bill in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies to allow people who hold cryptocurrencies in self-custody, and who may be physically coerced into transferring their assets, to obtain a firearm licence. The proposal targets so-called "wrench attacks", crimes in which victims are kidnapped, threatened or assaulted to force them to hand over passwords, private keys or access to crypto wallets.

The bill, PL 5.297/2026, filed on Friday (4), amends Brazil's Disarmament Statute, the Estatuto do Desarmamento, to add "holders of virtual assets at risk of physical coercion" to the categories entitled to carry a firearm. Under the text, the licence would be valid nationwide, subject to future regulation.

The proposal does not cover every crypto investor. To qualify, a person would need to meet cumulative requirements: maintain direct and exclusive control over self-custodied virtual assets, with no company able to block or veto their movement, and have a significant public profile linked to the crypto market. That includes public statements defending virtual assets or acting as a founder, partner, administrator, director or figure publicly associated with companies in the sector.

The bill also requires that the investor be potentially identifiable as a target for physical coercion aimed at transferring digital assets. At the same time, it bars the licence from being made conditional on disclosing amounts, wallet addresses, cryptographic keys or any information that would allow the applicant's crypto assets to be located or quantified.

The text also states that personal data and information submitted with the application must remain confidential, with extra protection under Brazil's data protection law, the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD). The stated aim is to prevent the application process itself from increasing the asset holder's exposure to risk.

The proposal has been filed with the Chamber of Deputies and still has to go through the legislative process before any vote.

Physical attacks become the argument for changing the Disarmament Statute

In the bill's explanatory memorandum, Capitão Alden states that self-custody, whether through hardware or software wallets, gives users control over their private keys but can also turn them into direct targets for criminals. The bill cites "wrench attacks", a term used in the market for crimes in which digital security stops being the weak point and physical violence is used instead to gain access to assets.

The deputy argues that the trend is global and cites France as one of the countries with the highest number of recent cases. The text also cites a kidnapping recorded in Brazil in 2021, involving a businessman linked to the crypto asset trade, and states that five further similar attacks were recorded in the country in 2025.

The issue has gained traction in the crypto market in recent years. A survey by CertiK found that physical attacks against crypto holders resulted in losses of US$124 million in the first half of 2026. There were 52 wrench-type attacks in the period, up a third from the 39 cases recorded a year earlier.

CertiK had already recorded 72 physical attacks throughout 2025, a 75% increase on 2024. One of the most violent cases took place in France, with the kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife. According to accounts cited by Portal do Bitcoin, the attackers cut off one of Balland's fingers in an attempt to force payment of a ransom.

The bill's explanatory memorandum argues that these crimes are planned, and that allowing potential victims to carry firearms would raise the risk for criminals, acting as a deterrent. On that basis, the proposal adds this group to the list of people authorised to carry firearms under Law No. 10,826, the Disarmament Statute.

The proposal is likely to spark debate, however. Supporters may argue that exposed investors and crypto professionals in self-custody face specific risks, since blockchain transfers can be irreversible and accessed directly by whoever obtains the private keys. Critics, on the other hand, are likely to question whether extending firearm licences is the right response to kidnapping, extortion and money-laundering crimes, or whether the answer should instead lie in investigation, police intelligence, data protection and security protocols.

If it advances, the bill would create a new category under the Disarmament Statute: people authorised to carry firearms not because of a traditional security profession or institutional risk, but because of asset exposure and public visibility linked to digital assets. The debate puts at its centre a problem increasingly common in the crypto market: when protecting one's keys stops being purely a technological matter and starts depending on the investor's physical safety as well.

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