In a disturbing trend in France, a 26-year-old TikTok crypto influencer was abducted and tortured by four men demanding a ransom of €50,000 in cryptocurrency. Upon discovering his crypto wallet was nearly empty, the kidnappers released him. This incident is part of a growing wave of "wrench attacks" targeting crypto holders in France, where criminals resort to physical violence to extort crypto assets.
French authorities have responded by making multiple arrests linked to recent crypto kidnapping cases, including the detainment of a suspected mastermind arrested in Morocco. Lawmakers are also taking legislative action: French MP Paul Midy has submitted a draft law aiming to protect public crypto figures by restricting access to their residential addresses in official registries to prevent attackers from using this data.
The kidnappings have affected prominent crypto community members, such as the Ledger co-founder David Balland, demonstrating the real-world dangers for those involved with cryptocurrencies. Crypto wallet maker Trezor highlighted the risks but noted that blockchain transparency and certain cryptocurrencies' capabilities (like USDT's freeze/reversal features) can mitigate the success of ransom schemes.
This wave of crypto-targeted violence in France is unusually high relative to global occurrences, prompting calls for stronger protective measures. Authorities are intensifying crackdowns on those involved in these organized kidnappings and are supporting legislative reforms to secure crypto investors’ physical safety.