France earns crypto kidnapping capital title as 2026 starts with violent streak

France is famous for things like the Eiffel Tower and fashion, but now crypto kidnapping has also joined that list. 

Following a persistent series of crypto-linked kidnappings, media outlets are now referring to France as the “global crypto kidnapping capital.” 

France, the cryptokidnapping capital of the world

France has been getting a bad rap lately, and 2026 has seen a continuation of that trend. It has just been named the leading hub for crypto-related kidnappings aka wrench attacks, a new form of crime that has been growing in frequency in recent times. 

Wrench attacks often involve getting physical or resorting to threats and abduction to compel victims to transfer their digital assets. According to a recent Gravitas special report by WION, there were up to 19 wrench attacks in France last year, the highest of any country globally. 

This year alone, the country has witnessed up to six different cases of wrench attacks, solidifying the nation’s position as the global epicenter of this new kind of crime, and the stories are gruesome. 

As Cryptopolitan reported earlier this month, Binance France CEO David Prinçay was the victim of a poorly executed house invasion in Val-de-Marne. Local police reports said that three masked men who were allegedly armed broke into a residential building early on February 12, around seven o’clock, in an attempt to find Binance’s local CEO.

Earlier this month, the partner of a 35-year-old magistrate in France received a picture of his partner accompanied by threats to mutilate her if they did not pay a ransom in cryptocurrency. 

The man’s wife had been targeted because he was an associate in a start-up with a cryptocurrency business. He reported the demand to French police, sparking a multi-agency manhunt involving as many as 160 officers. 

The magistrate and her elderly mother were in the custody of the kidnappers for 30 hours in a garage in southern France’s Drôme region until they received help from a neighbor who heard their commotion and helped them escape. 

No ransom was paid in this case, and the French authorities have reportedly arrested six suspects in connection with the case. It is one of the latest crypto-linked kidnappings to happen in France, which has been facing a wave of crypto-related wrench attacks and violent kidnappings targeting crypto natives. 

The driving force behind the violence 

Wrench attacks have been a problem for the crypto industry for years. However, the recent string of high-profile violent attacks over the past year has heightened the threat level for crypto investors, especially those located in France. 

Several factors are fueling this surge, with the most crucial one being data breaches. In June 2025, French media reported that an employee with the country’s tax agency had been steadily providing other alleged criminals with data on different crypto investors in the country.

To make matters worse, this January, it was revealed that Waltio, a service that lets investors calculate and report their crypto capital gains for tax reports, had been hacked. That attack allowed the attackers to gain access to 50,000 Waltio customers’ data, including email addresses and their 2024 tax reports.

Sensitive leaks are one thing, but another factor that makes crypto such an enticing sector for wrench attacks is that crypto makes a more convenient target to steal because digital assets are becoming more ubiquitous.

“As cryptocurrency adoption grows and more value is held directly by individuals, criminals are increasingly incentivised to bypass technical defenses altogether and target people instead,” TRM Labs’ Global Head of Policy, Ari Redbord, said.

The incidents have driven fear into the hearts of many crypto natives, forcing many to invest in physical security, especially during trips to France. 

A critical observation 

Globally, the frequency of wrench attacks has gone up by 75% year-on-year from 2024, with about 25 kidnappings, 3 murders over $40 million in losses. 

Europe accounts for nearly 40% of all these incidents, with France leading most countries by a wide margin. Many of the perpetrators who have been caught are young, often minors or young adults recruited via apps like Telegram and paid relatively small amounts to carry out the attacks. 

However, despite the arrests and severity of crimes, there have been no convictions, and experts believe this contributes to the lack of deterrence. As more wrench attacks are recorded, pressure is mounting on the French government to impose harsher penalties on convicted criminals and strengthen protections for its crypto population.

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