France arrests six over crypto ransom kidnapping of magistrate
French authorities have detained six individuals, including one minor, in connection with the abduction of a 35-year-old magistrate and her 67-year-old mother, part of an alleged cryptocurrency ransom scheme aimed at the magistrate’s partner, a crypto entrepreneur.
France 24, citing AFP, reported that the partner received a photograph of the magistrate alongside threats to maim the hostages unless a payment in cryptocurrency was made. The women were held for roughly 30 hours in a garage in the Drôme department before raising the alarm and escaping. No ransom was paid.
The incident follows a broader rise in crypto-linked kidnappings in France. In 2025, prosecutors charged 25 suspects, including several minors, over a series of kidnappings and attempted kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency investors and executives, with ransoms allegedly demanded in digital assets.
Also in 2025, an attempted kidnapping of the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, co-founder and CEO of French crypto exchange Paymium, was foiled after the victim resisted and escaped.
Earlier cases include an assault near Paris on a Ledger wallet user, in which attackers sought to coerce a crypto transfer, and the kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland and his partner, during which Balland reportedly had part of a finger severed before being released.
Kidnappings “happening every 2 days”
France has drawn heightened scrutiny from crypto security researchers monitoring “wrench attacks,” a term for physical assaults, home invasions, and kidnappings aimed at forcing victims to surrender private keys. Bitcoin (BTC) security advocate Jameson Lopp said Friday that “8 of the 10 wrench attacks so far this year have been in France.”
French Bitcoin developer and founder Kevin Loaec warned on X that “France is really fu**ed up,” adding that he had to tell relatives living there that “at this stage, they will get kidnapped someday. And there is nothing I can do about it.” In the same thread, he claimed “kidnappings [are] happening every 2 days in France now” and cautioned that public visibility is no longer a decisive factor: “It just seem[s] to randomly happen to anyone who somehow used bitcoin, went to meetups, paid taxes on it,” he wrote, arguing the issue stems from weak deterrence. “Kidnappers basically don’t get punished,” he added.
Video journalist and influencer Joe Nakamoto issued a separate warning: “If you are a doxxed bitcoiner or crypto person in France. LEAVE. GET OUT. Wrench attacks everyday.”
Global problem, not just France
Security specialists advise that technical measures such as time-locked vaults, decoy wallets, and withdrawal delays are only part of a broader risk strategy, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a low profile wherever self-custodied crypto is held.
While France has recently dominated headlines for physical attacks on crypto holders, the United States has the highest cumulative count of recorded wrench attacks over a longer period. Other regions have also documented violent crypto-related coercion, suggesting the issue is global rather than unique to France.
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