The alleged conquerors demanded that the payment be made by 5 pm on Monday, otherwise Guthrie’s life would be threatened. Savannah Guthrie and her siblings said they would pay a ransom for a video posted on Instagram at the end of the week.

KGUN9 declined to share any additional details about the ransom note in a note to Good luck. Law enforcement did not say the ransom note was legitimate.

To pay the ransom, the Guthrie family must obtain Bitcoin, usually by opening an account with a crypto exchange, according to a spokesperson for blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. The family can also send the money through an intermediary. In either case, they will transfer the requested amount to the wallet address provided by the captors.

Bitcoin addresses, which are public, are long strings of random numbers and characters that can only be opened with the corresponding private key controlled by the wallet owner.

The public nature of Bitcoin’s blockchain means that it is possible to view the funds in action on so-called explorer sites such as this one. While the public record does not include clear names or locations, blockchain forensics companies are often able to associate addresses with certain crypto exchanges or criminal gangs. In some cases, law enforcement may intervene to seize funds or intercept a transaction.

“The immediate response from exchanges and law enforcement is simply to hope to stop the money,” said Nicholas Smart, VP of a blockchain investigative company called Crystal Intelligence.

In the Guthrie kidnapping case, a retired FBI agent told the New York Post that the ransom note had a unique feature—that it included the term “USD” for dollars, which he said an American would be unlikely to use. The former agent suggested that this could mean that the kidnappers could be from abroad or that the note was a fraud.

A second note was found to be completely fake, and led to the arrest of the sender, but so far authorities seem to be treating KGUN9 as a credible one.

An increase in crypto-related violence

Nancy Guthrie, the mother of ‘Today’ show co-host Savannah Guthrie, was last seen on Saturday, January 31. The next day, after Nancy Guthrie was not seen at church, her family went to her home and found her phone, wallet, and daily medication but she was nowhere to be found.

It is widely believed that Guthrie was taken from his home against his will. Blood was found in the house and there were other signs of forced entry. The Pima County Sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump said “we have some clues” about the loss and that answers could come “soon.” while talking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday. He called the loss a “terrible situation.”

Brutal attacks demanding crypto payments, often called “wrench attacks”, have been to climb in the last few years. Criminals usually target people who brag publicly about their crypto winnings, and physically force them to hand over their Bitcoin key. The case involving Nancy Guthrie appears to be very different considering that there is no evidence that she has any crypto wealth.