Bitcoin
French Interior Ministry Reports 90 Crypto-Related Kidnappings and Physical Attacks
Official data reveals a surge in violent physical thefts targeting French cryptocurrency holders following major tax and platform data breaches.
France recorded 90 cases of crypto-related violent crimes, including kidnappings, extortions, and physical robberies, between January 1 and mid-August 2026, according to Interior Ministry statistics provided to Cointelegraph. Law enforcement agencies carried out 223 arrests and detained 126 individuals over this period, with incidents occurring across major cities including Paris, Marseille, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Grenoble, and Nantes.
The ministry only started officially categorizing these offences in January 2026. However, industry trackers indicate that France has experienced a notable concentration of such assaults. Historical records from Jameson Lopp list 365 physical attacks across 60 countries since 2014, placing France at the top. For 2026, security firm Gart.io reported 73 attacks in France, surpassing figures for the United States and the United Kingdom, while Chainalysis observed that French incidents have exceeded their historical baseline since late 2024.
Researchers link the heightened risk to past security breaches that exposed sensitive user details. In 2024, a tax official in the Paris region leaked personal, financial, and cryptocurrency data of French taxpayers. This incident was followed in January 2026 by a data breach at the crypto tax platform Waltio, which compromised information belonging to approximately 50,000 users. According to Chainalysis, such leaks simplify the identification and targeting of domestic holders, with French residents representing 93 percent of victims with known residency.
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