Speaker 1: They called it digital gold, the promise of instant wealth,
revolutionary technology that would change the world forever. Alessandro Romano
believed in that promise. A brilliant blockchain developer from Milan,
he thought he'd found the perfect business partner, and Marcus Sterling,
a charismatic crypto entrepreneur from New York. Together they built
a company worth millions. But when greed consumed their partnership,
Alessandro walked away. He thought it was over. He was wrong.
One phone call, one invitation back to New York, one
last chance to repair their friendship. What Alessandro didn't know
was that Marcus had been planning, waiting, obsessing over the fortune.
Locked away in Alessandro's crypto wallets, the luxury Soho apartment
wasn't a meeting place, it was a prison. For eight days,
Alessandro endured unimaginable torture, electrocution, psychological warfare, death threats, all
for his bitcoin passwords. But on day eight, something happened
that his captors never expected. He escaped. This is the
true story of friendship turned to betrayal, of digital dreams
becoming real world nightmares, of how the promise of easy
money can transform ordinary people into monsters. I'm Marcus Rivera
and this is Crypto Kidnap, the most shocking crime story
to emerge from the cryptocurrency revolution. Available now wherever you
get your podcasts.