France Announces Upcoming Security Protocols Following Wave of Cryptocurrency Kidnappings
During Paris Blockchain Week, Jean-Didier Berger announced France's plans to implement additional security measures for cryptocurrency investors amid an escalating number of physical attacks and abductions.
During his appearance at Paris Blockchain Week, Jean-Didier Berger, who serves as minister delegate to France's interior minister, announced that government officials are implementing protective measures aimed at safeguarding digital currency investors against an escalating wave of physical attacks and kidnappings targeting crypto holders throughout the nation.
Addressing attendees at Paris Blockchain Week, Berger disclosed that his department has implemented "preventative measures" designed to combat these violent crypto-related assaults, which included the establishment of a prevention platform that has successfully attracted thousands of registered users. The minister further revealed that he is collaborating with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to develop what he characterized as a more comprehensive strategy that will be unveiled in the upcoming weeks.
The minister's statements follow closely on the heels of yet another crypto-related kidnapping incident that occurred in France just days earlier this week. In that case, a woman and her 11-year-old child were allegedly abducted in the Burgundy region on Monday by a group of four individuals who demanded a ransom payment of 400,000 euros ($471,000) from the child's father, who operates as a cryptocurrency entrepreneur. Law enforcement successfully apprehended the perpetrators and rescued the victims on Tuesday morning, according to France24, which cited information from the Paris prosecutor's office.
The French nation has emerged as a leading hotspot for these so-called wrench attacks, which involve perpetrators using physical violence or threats of violence to coerce victims into transferring their digital currency holdings, and government officials are facing mounting pressure to take decisive action in response to this growing crisis.
Physical Crypto Attacks Experience Troubling Escalation in France
From the start of the current year through the present, France has witnessed 41 documented cryptocurrency-related kidnapping incidents, which translates to an average frequency of one such violent attack occurring approximately every 2.5 days throughout 2026, according to reporting from RTL, a French local news organization, published on Wednesday.
On a global scale, these types of physical attacks targeting crypto holders experienced a significant 75% surge during 2025, climbing to a total of 72 confirmed incidents worldwide, based on data compiled by cybersecurity platform CertiK. Throughout 2025, France recorded the highest number of these incidents among all nations, registering 19 verified wrench attacks, while the European continent as a whole represented approximately 40% of all documented cases globally.
In a separate criminal incident, a married French couple, both in their late 50s, fell victim to thieves who made off with Bitcoin (BTC) valued at $1 million after the perpetrators impersonated law enforcement officers, as Cointelegraph documented in a report published on March 10.
Just one month prior to that incident, during February, French law enforcement authorities took six individuals into custody in connection with the abduction of a magistrate along with her mother in a crypto-related extortion scheme that specifically targeted the magistrate's romantic partner, who is involved in the cryptocurrency business sector.