{"id":202273,"date":"2025-06-21T10:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T10:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/202273\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T10:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T10:17:08","slug":"can-holding-bitcoin-make-you-a-target-frances-scary-new-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/202273\/","title":{"rendered":"Can holding Bitcoin make you a target? France\u2019s scary new reality"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>France faces a surge in violent kidnappings targeting crypto holders and industry figures.<\/li>\n<li>Experts urge stronger security and regulations as global crypto-related crimes intensify.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As cryptocurrency adoption grows across Europe, so too does the dark underbelly of crypto-related crime, with France now struggling with a disturbing surge in digital asset kidnappings.<\/p>\n<p>Crypto kidnapping in Maisons-Alfort<\/p>\n<p>In a recent and alarming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leparisien.fr\/val-de-marne-94\/maisons-alfort-ils-sequestrent-un-homme-pour-sa-cle-contenant-de-la-cryptomonnaie-19-06-2025-WU22L25EARDGPG3U2KWVG22VXQ.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">incident<\/a> near Paris, a 23-year-old man was abducted in the suburb of Maisons-Alfort and held hostage for several hours. <\/p>\n<p>The attackers demanded \u20ac5,000 in cash and access to the victim\u2019s Ledger hardware wallet, reportedly using physical violence to extract sensitive information about his crypto holdings. <\/p>\n<p>Although he was later released in Cr\u00e9teil, the event adds to a worrying pattern of targeted assaults on crypto holders in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, in Normandy, police recently thwarted a planned abduction after receiving a tip from a 22-year-old crypto trader and his mother, who reported being followed. <\/p>\n<p>The timely arrest of five suspects prevented what could have been another violent incident. This followed an even more shocking case <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/kidnapped-co-founder-french-crypto-firm-ledger-had-his-hand-mutilated-2025-01-24\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">involving<\/a> Ledger co-founder David Balland.<\/p>\n<p> Balland and his wife were kidnapped from their home in central France, with the former sustaining severe injuries, including a mutilated hand, according to the Paris prosecutor. <\/p>\n<p>Authorities managed to rescue him the next day, with his wife rescued shortly afterward.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Wrench attacks\u2019 on the rise<\/p>\n<p>The rising number of such physical attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders, often referred to as <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/jlopp\/physical-bitcoin-attacks\/blob\/master\/README.md\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">\u201cwrench attacks,\u201d<\/a> has triggered alarm across France and beyond.<\/p>\n<p> This Maisons-Alfort incident marked the tenth public wrench attack in France.<\/p>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/clyz4rkxrwxo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow external noreferrer\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">BBC<\/a>, French authorities have arrested over 20 individuals in connection with multiple abduction plots aimed at crypto entrepreneurs and their families.<\/p>\n<p>This included a recent attempt in Nantes and a foiled kidnapping in Paris involving a woman and child.<\/p>\n<p>These incidents have raised serious questions about the vulnerability of crypto investors, whose wealth stored in digital wallets has become an attractive target for criminals seeking high-value ransom payments.<\/p>\n<p>French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has since pledged to enhance protection measures for crypto executives and their families. <\/p>\n<p>However, the threat isn\u2019t confined to France. Similar crimes have surfaced globally, in the U.S., two people were recently indicted in New York for kidnapping a tourist to access his crypto holdings.<\/p>\n<p> Other wrench attacks have been reported across India, Hong Kong, Spain, and the Philippines.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Is there a solution?<\/p>\n<p>As cybercrime escalates, particularly targeting crypto users, it becomes increasingly evident that robust regulations and security frameworks are no longer optional \u2014 they are essential.<\/p>\n<p>Without strong safeguards, the promise of decentralized finance could be overshadowed by a rising tide of digital exploitation, turning the crypto space into a haven for illicit activity rather than innovation.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrevious: <a href=\"https:\/\/ambcrypto.com\/bitcoins-options-expiry-to-test-btcs-100k-floor-will-bears-take-control\/\" rel=\"next noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Bitcoin\u2019s Options expiry to test BTC\u2019s $100K floor \u2013 Will bears take control?<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext: <a href=\"https:\/\/ambcrypto.com\/semler-scientifics-bitcoin-vision-42k-btc-buy-in-2026-105k-in-2027\/\" rel=\"prev noopener\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" target=\"_blank\">Semler Scientific\u2019s Bitcoin vision: 42K BTC buy in 2026, 105K in 2027<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France faces a surge in violent kidnappings targeting crypto holders and industry figures. Experts urge stronger security and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":202274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[52,51,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-202273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-ambcrypto","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114720842994822706","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}