Share this article
CEO of Canadian Crypto Holding Returns Safely After Paying $720K Ransom: Report
WonderFi CEO was forced into a vehicle but released after a ransom was paid.
Updated Nov 8, 2024, 5:21 a.m. Published Nov 8, 2024, 5:19 a.m.
- WonderFi CEO Dean Skurka was briefly held by unknown assailants in Toronto until a ransom was paid.
- Skurka is unharmed.
The CEO of WonderFi, a publicly listed crypto holding company that owns one of Canada's largest crypto exchanges, has been safely released after he was kidnapped, Canada's CBC reported.
CBC says that Dean Skurka was forced into a car during rush hour in Toronto, and the assailants demanded money for his release. Skurka was released unharmed after he paid a ransom of Canadian Dollar 1 million ($720,660).
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
In a publicly released statement, Skurka said that "client funds and data remain safe, and were not impacted by this incident."
Police in Ontario say crime in the province continues to rise, with gun violence in the Greater Toronto Area breaking records. Consensus 2025 will be held in Toronto in May.
As the crypto bull market continues, with bitcoin recently breaking through an all-time high, crypto kidnappings and extortion are also rising.
Recently, police in Thailand arrested 12 people, including seven police officers, who were involved in a crypto kidnapping and extortion ring. The group had allegedly extorted a Chinese national for USDT 10 million after they reportedly fabricated charges and demanded payment to drop the case.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Canadian Province Wins Forfeiture of $1M QuadrigaCX Co-Founder's Cash & Gold via Default Judgment
The ruling transfers cash, gold bars, watches, and jewelry seized from a CIBC safety deposit box and bank account into government hands after Patryn did not defend the case.
What to know:
- The Supreme Court of British Columbia has forfeited $1 million in cash and gold tied to QuadrigaCX's co-founder, Michael Patryn, to the government.
- Patryn did not contest the forfeiture, which involved 45 gold bars, luxury watches, and over $250,000 in cash seized under an Unexplained Wealth Order.
- The forfeiture may lead to a process determining if any assets can be directed to QuadrigaCX's creditors, who received 13 cents on the dollar in the bankruptcy settlement.
Top Stories
