France Logs 77 Crypto Wrench Attacks in Six Months, Vows "More Ambitious" Plan 🪛

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) on Tuesday that 77 kidnappings, extortions or attempted extortions linked to cryptocurrencies have been recorded in France so far this year, up sharply from 45 in all of 2025. "These are serious matters, and your concern is legitimate," Nuñez said at the ADAN event, as reported by BFM Business. Approximately 11% of French people own cryptocurrencies, according to ADAN, a figure that translates to roughly 7.3 million people.

Nuñez outlined a three-part response he described as "more ambitious," focused on stronger intelligence-sharing given that criminal networks are often based abroad, a deeper partnership with ADAN to build a network of experts across industry and state agencies, and tighter operational coordination between security services, including cooperation with foreign states where perpetrators operate. He also pointed to a rapid-alert and protection system launched earlier this year for crypto holders and professionals, which has drawn 724 sign-ups, and said emergency measures had led to 200 arrests. In one recent case, an attacker was arrested within eight hours after a victim used an emergency identification hotline.

The escalation follows a string of high-profile incidents. In January 2025, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his partner were kidnapped and held for ransom before being rescued by police. In February 2026, intruders targeted the home of Binance France's chief executive; he was not present and they fled with two phones. In March, fake police officers robbed a couple of 900,000 euros in Bitcoin ($BTC), and in April two men extorted 700,000 euros from a family of five. Officials said in April that France had already suffered at least 41 crypto-related kidnappings and home invasions, a pace of roughly one every two to three days.

Blockchain security firm CertiK reported in May that wrench attacks globally rose 41% in the first four months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, with Europe accounting for the majority. CertiK described France as the "epicenter" because of the presence of several flagship industry companies and their executives, what it called a "culture of flexing and voluntary doxxing that remains deeply embedded in the community," and proven exposure from sensitive data leaks, including the 2020 Ledger breach that exposed more than 270,000 personal records and continues to fuel phishing and physical attacks. "France ranks among the most targeted countries in the world for this type of breach," CertiK said.