French Government Pledges Stronger Action Against Crypto Violence With 77 Cases Reported
Authorities in France have documented 77 cases of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings and extortion attempts in 2026 while unveiling enhanced protective measures for digital asset owners.
Throughout this year, France has experienced an average of almost three crypto-related wrench attacks weekly, according to Laurent Nuñez, the country's Interior Minister, who verified that 77 cases involving kidnapping, extortion, or extortion attempts connected to cryptocurrency occurred during the initial six months of 2026.
Speaking on Tuesday, Nuñez revealed that the 77 cases documented during the current year represent a significant increase compared to the 45 incidents that were recorded throughout the entirety of 2025, as reported by French news source BFM Business.
"These are serious matters, and your concern is legitimate," he told the Association for the Development of Digital Assets (ADAN) as he promised more government support.
The nation has emerged as a major focal point for crypto wrench attacks, a crime where perpetrators employ physical force or threats of violence to compel victims into transferring their cryptocurrency holdings. Data from ADAN indicates that roughly 11% of the French population possesses cryptocurrencies, representing approximately 7.3 million individuals.
France's rapid alert and protection system
During the earlier months of this year, French law enforcement agencies introduced a specialized prevention platform alongside a rapid-alert and protection mechanism designed for cryptocurrency holders and industry professionals, which has successfully registered 724 participants to date, according to Nuñez.
According to Nuñez, the implementation of emergency response protocols has led to 200 apprehensions, including one recent case where an assailant was taken into custody within just eight hours on Friday, partly due to the victim's utilization of an emergency identification hotline service.
The Interior Minister committed to implementing a "more ambitious" three-part plan to reinforce security measures for the crypto sector. This includes stronger intelligence-sharing, since criminal networks are often based abroad, a deeper partnership with ADAN and better operational coordination between security services.
French wrench attacks on the rise
In May, blockchain security company CertiK published findings showing that wrench attacks worldwide had increased by 41% during the initial four months of 2026 when compared to the corresponding timeframe in the previous year, with the majority of incidents occurring throughout Europe.
According to the firm's analysis, France serves as the "epicenter" of such attacks due to the location of multiple prominent industry corporations and their executive leadership, a "culture of flexing and voluntary doxxing that remains deeply embedded in the community," and demonstrated vulnerability stemming from multiple sensitive data leaks.
In January 2025, David Balland, co-founder of French hardware wallet maker Ledger, was kidnapped and held for ransom along with his partner before being rescued by police.
The company experienced one of the cryptocurrency industry's most devastating data breaches when unauthorized hackers compromised its customer database in 2020, leading to the exposure of over 270,000 personal records and triggering an ongoing wave of phishing schemes and wrench attacks that persist to the present day.
"France ranks among the most targeted countries in the world for this type of breach," CertiK said.
