The November kidnapping of WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka cost the company $3.6 million, an amount that includes a ransom payment as well as security upgrades.

WonderFi disclosed the $3.6 million charge related to the incident in filings last week. The filings confirm that a company executive was kidnapped and held for ransom on Nov. 6, 2024. The CBC has reported the ransom payment totalled $1 million, citing a source familiar with the investigation. Neither Skurka nor WonderFi responded to a request for comment.

Skurka had previously confirmed to The Logic that there was an “incident” on that date, that he was safe and that client funds and data were not affected. He did not respond when asked last week what the value of the ransom payment was, what security measures WonderFi put in place or whether the ransom was paid directly from a corporate account.

In an email, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said officers were told that suspects forced a person into a vehicle in downtown Toronto and demanded money just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 6. Police later found the person unharmed in Etobicoke’s Centennial Park.

WonderFi owns some of Canada’s most popular crypto-trading platforms, including Bitbuy and Coinsquare. Those two platforms held more than $2.1 billion in client assets as of Dec. 31, 2024. In March, the firm announced an expansion into derivatives trading for traditional financial assets including foreign exchange, metals and a selection of stocks in partnership with fintech Eightcap.

High-profile figures in the crypto world face significant security risks. In so-called “$5 wrench attacks,” robbers threaten or assault people known to hold large amounts of crypto, forcing them to give up information that would let someone transfer it.

Toronto-based Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio announced he would leave the crypto industry in 2021 over such security concerns, but returned a year later to launch the blockchain project Andiami. A passerby found the remains of Montreal crypto influencer Kevin Mirshahi the same week as Skurka’s kidnapping. Three people have been charged in connection with the incident.

There were 31 incidents of physical violence against known crypto owners in 2024, according to data compiled by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin security firm Casa. There have been 18 incidents to date in 2025, putting the year on track to more than double 2024’s total.