French authorities recorded 90 cases involving kidnapping, abduction, extortion, threats and violent theft linked to cryptocurrencies between Jan. 1 and mid-August 2026. The Interior Ministry figures, provided to Cointelegraph, also show 223 arrests and 126 people imprisoned between January and July.
That amounts to roughly one reported case every two and a half days. However, there is no official year-on-year comparison because France only began recording these incidents as a separate category on Jan. 1, 2026. The figures therefore show the scale of the problem, but not whether it has increased compared with the same period last year.
France emerges as a leading target
The government’s tally is higher than several publicly maintained estimates. Chainalysis counted 30 publicly known violent crypto incidents in France through the middle of 2026, while warning that the true total was likely higher. Gart.io, a security firm tracking physical attacks, recorded 73 incidents in France during the year to date, ahead of 66 in the United States and 27 in the United Kingdom.
These attacks are often described as “wrench attacks”: crimes in which perpetrators use the threat or reality of physical violence to force someone to surrender cryptocurrency, wallet access or other valuables. Unlike a digital theft, the attack takes place in the physical world and may involve a home invasion, kidnapping or assault.
The incidents are no longer concentrated only in Paris. Chainalysis identified attacks in Strasbourg, Marseille, Grenoble, Toulouse and Nantes. Among victims whose residency was known, 93% were French, suggesting that the cases are primarily affecting people living in the country rather than wealthy crypto tourists.
Jameson Lopp’s long-running directory of known physical attacks has documented 365 cases across 60 countries from 2014 through 2026, with France at the top of its country ranking. The available data does not establish a single cause for the French total, but security researchers have pointed to the exposure of personal and financial information.
How leaked data may expose victims
Eric Jardine, head researcher at Chainalysis, told Cointelegraph that a significant data breach was “very likely” behind the surge. Personal information can reveal more than a person’s financial details: it may show who owns cryptocurrency, where they live and how criminals can contact them.
Chainalysis has linked the rise in attacks to a 2024 compromise involving France’s tax authority. The incident reportedly exposed personally identifiable information, financial details and crypto holdings belonging to French taxpayers in the Paris area. Chainalysis’ records show attacks rising from late November of that year.
A second breach was disclosed in January 2026 by Waltio, a cryptocurrency tax-reporting company. The incident affected about 50,000 users, potentially providing criminals with another source of information about people involved in digital assets.
Francis Pouliot, founder of Canadian Bitcoin exchange Bull Bitcoin, has also criticised the European Union’s DAC8 crypto-reporting rules in France. The rules expand tax-reporting and information-sharing requirements for crypto users across the bloc. Pouliot has described France as the “crypto kidnapping capital of the world” and argued that broader customer-identification requirements can create security risks.
The concern is that a criminal does not need to break a wallet’s cryptography if leaked records have already identified a potentially valuable target. Digital safeguards such as hardware wallets and protected seed phrases may secure access to funds, but they cannot prevent someone from using violence to demand a transfer or information.
Relatives are increasingly being targeted
The person holding the cryptocurrency is not always the person criminals approach. Chainalysis said relatives and acquaintances represented about 25% to 30% of violent crypto incidents globally by early 2026. In France, that share exceeded 40%.
In May 2026, six men allegedly attempted to abduct the wife of Sébastien Borget, co-founder of The Sandbox, from the couple’s home in Villenoy. One attacker reportedly posed as a delivery driver to persuade her to open the gate.
In August, a couple in rural France reportedly faced three separate attempts to enter their home after purchasing a property previously occupied by crypto millionaires. The former owners’ tax information and address had allegedly been published on the dark web.
Another reported case occurred in Paris in 2025, when the father of a crypto entrepreneur was abducted for two days. The kidnappers allegedly cut off part of his finger and sent it to his son while demanding $5.6 million in cryptocurrency.
Jardine said the focus on relatives and associates indicates that criminals may conduct reconnaissance before an attack. Possible methods include monitoring social media, analysing blockchain activity, using leaked information or receiving tips from insiders.
French authorities are treating the incidents as organised crime and coordinating investigations through JUNALCO, the country’s specialised organised-crime jurisdiction.
Current crypto market picture
Moneyiar market data at 11:44 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2026, showed Bitcoin at $82,974.40, up 0.20% over 24 hours but down 2.68% over seven days. Monad was priced at $0.025356424, up 2.82% in 24 hours and down 24.49% over seven days.
AKEDO stood at $0.0261859229, down 3.98% in 24 hours and 26.33% over seven days. Holo was $0.0004173737, down 0.93% over 24 hours and 7.23% over seven days. These market movements provide price context only and do not indicate any connection between token performance and the reported crimes.
