A French couple was abducted from their home in Rion-des-Landes during the night of Aug. 10–11 in an alleged Bitcoin extortion plot, underscoring a sharp rise in violent crypto-related crime in France. Several attackers entered the property around 4 a.m. and threatened the residents while demanding access to what local outlet Actu Landes described as a large amount of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
After the confrontation, the assailants removed both victims from the house and took them to separate locations. The man was later found in Solférino, about 20 kilometers from Rion-des-Landes, naked and with several cuts. The woman was recovered in a vehicle in another French department. Authorities have not released the couple’s identities, professions, crypto holdings, or the woman’s condition. It remains unclear whether any cryptocurrency was transferred or whether wallet credentials were obtained.
French gendarmes responded with a large deployment, stopping vehicles on the road between Rion-des-Landes and Lesperon. Investigators returned to the home the following day to collect fingerprints and preserve evidence. Two men were arrested shortly after the incident, though their identities, ages and suspected roles have not been disclosed. France’s National Anti-Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction in Bordeaux is handling the case, but no charges have been publicly announced.
The abduction is part of a broader pattern. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said France recorded 77 crypto-linked kidnappings, unlawful detentions, extortion cases or attempted offenses in 2026, up from 45 in 2025, with about 200 arrests. A separate Chainalysis report counted 30 publicly known violent crypto incidents in France in the first half of 2026, compared with 19 for all of 2025. Globally, criminals stole more than $30 million through successful physical attacks in the first half of 2026, with a 26% success rate, down from 49% in 2025.
Chainalysis found that home invasions represented 37% of documented attacks through mid-2026, up from 14% in 2025, while kidnappings remained the most common category. In France, more than 40% of cases involved a relative or associate rather than the identified holder, with leaked tax information, social media activity and a January breach at crypto tax platform Waltio affecting around 50,000 users cited as possible targeting vectors, though no direct link to specific attacks has been established.
Similar physical attacks have led to US federal prosecutions, including three Tennessee men accused of posing as delivery workers and stealing about $6.5 million in digital assets from victims.
