insidebitcoins.com
The CEO of Kevin O’Leary-backed WonderFi Technologies Inc., Dean Skurka, has been safely released after paying a $720,000 ransom following his abduction during rush hour in Toronto on Nov. 7.
Skurka said in a company statement that “client funds and data remain safe,” and were not impacted by the incident. He had paid a $1 million CAD ransom, worth $720,660, according to a report by Canada’s CBC.
WonderFi is backed by multimillionaire O’Leary, who is co-host of the TV show Shark Tank. It’s listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of almost C$110 million ($79 million).
WonderFi CEO The Latest Victim In Rising Crypto Crime Wave
The WonderFi CEO’s kidnapping is the latest incident amid a rising crypto crime trend. In July this year, four suspects were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 29-year old foreign national Bitcoin investor in Kyiv, Ukraine. The perpetrators stole $170,000 worth of Bitcoin.
Just a month later, charges were brought against six Malaysian nationals for kidnapping a Chinese national and demanding a $1 million ransom. The criminals wanted the payment to be made in Tether’s USDT stablecoin.
WonderFi’s Share Price Plunges 10%
WonderFi’s share price plunged more than 10% to trade at $0.17 as of 8:58 a.m. EST after new of the incident broke.
With over 8.42M shares traded, @WonderFi has officially marked it's position as the most traded stock on the Toronto Stock Exchange today.
The recent activity is a clear sign of increasing interest from both Institutional and retail investors in the digital asset industry and…
— Dean (@wonderfi_dean) October 29, 2024
The plunge could also be attributed to the company’s third-quarter results, which showed revenue for the quarter was 46% below analyst expectations.