???????? France logs 77 crypto kidnappings and extortions in 6 months (+71% vs 2025), government unveils new security plan

In March, a couple in their sixties get tied up in their own home in Le Chesnay (Yvelines) by three men posing as police officers. At knifepoint, the husband is forced to transfer €900,000 in Bitcoin. In February, the head of Binance France narrowly avoids an armed break-in at his home in Paris, the three attackers flee empty-handed after failing to find him there.

These aren't isolated incidents. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on June 30 that the country has recorded 77 kidnappings, extortions, and attempted attacks tied to the crypto sector since January, up from 45 for all of 2025.

For scale: according to data compiled by Jameson Lopp, France alone recorded 19 "wrench attacks" in 2025, more than double the total in the US, and over a quarter of all documented cases worldwide.

The numbers from the minister:

• 200 people arrested over the past year, "either after the fact or preemptively"
• 724 holders and industry figures registered on the immediate identification platform (a direct emergency hotline), up 11% year-over-year
• One case cited: in the Somme, on June 26, perpetrators were arrested just 8 hours after the incident, after the victim used this hotline

The new plan, described as "more ambitious," rests on three pillars:

1. Stronger intelligence sharing to identify criminal networks, some of whose organizers operate from abroad
2. Expanded partnership with ADAN (France's digital asset industry association), including a new expert network bringing together industry and state agencies
3. Stronger operational and international coordination with the countries where organizers are based

On that last point, Nuñez gave a concrete example: after the arrest in Morocco, in June 2025, of a French-Moroccan suspect accused of ordering a string of kidnappings, including that of Ledger co-founder David Balland, kidnapped in January 2025 and freed in a raid by France's GIGN tactical unit, the wave of attacks stopped abruptly, overnight.

Other notable 2026 cases: in April, a family of five was extorted for €700,000.

One technical detail explains in part why Bitcoin holders specifically get targeted: unlike a bank transfer, a Bitcoin transaction signed under duress is irreversible: impossible to block or reverse once it's broadcast to the network. That completely changes the risk/reward calculation for attackers compared to a traditional robbery.

And you, what security measures do you take as Bitcoin Hodlers?