Bitcoin Holders Under Siege: France Faces Surge in Violent Crypto Kidnappings

Unknown Apr 02, 2026 1 Views

France is preparing itself for a sobering new era for cryptocurrency investors, with a sudden increase in ferocious attacks and abductions on Bitcoin investors and executives. The latest incident occurred this week in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb to the southeast of the capital Paris, where a 23-year-old crypto investor was abducted while on an errand mission. The abductors got him to call his business partner and demanded she hand over a Ledger hardware wallet and €5,000 in cash. The victim was released only after the thieves had made off with the loot, with sources suggesting that force was used to get information about his digital assets.

This is the 10th reported "wrench attack" — a euphemism for physically forcing victims to surrender crypto keys — in France alone this year, and represents nearly a third of all such attacks worldwide in 2025. Experts suspect that several others likely go unreported, and the year is proving to be a record year for crypto violence.

Key Points

France has registered 10 cryptocurrency kidnappings in 2025, the most in any nation this year.
The victims are normally physically attacked and made to surrender hardware wallets or seed phrases.
High-profile victims are cryptocurrency figures and their family members, a few of whom have suffered serious injuries, including the amputation of fingers in ransom attacks.
Over 20 suspects have been arrested in connection with such crimes, yet attacks continue to rise.

The French government is offering crypto companies more police presence, surveillance, and protection, and is meeting with executives to build further safeguards.

The trend cannot be limited to France since the same kind of attacks have been witnessed in the US, India, Hong Kong, and Spain.

The Bottom Line

France's cryptocurrency boom has turned investors and executives into high-risk targets for professional thieves. While authorities rush to react, the spate of violent robberies has put the community into high alert mode, highlighting the need for increased security and vigilance.

Source: The Block, Cointelegraph, BBC, AInvest

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