France has recorded 77 cryptocurrency-related cases involving kidnapping, extortion or attempted kidnapping since the beginning of the year.
Speaking to the Association of Digital Asset Owners (ADAN) on June 30, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the number had risen significantly from the 45 cases reported in 2025.
France reveals a more stringent security plan
While acknowledging concerns within the sector, Nunez described the incidents as serious, but said emergency security measures implemented a year ago had achieved results. he open About 200 people were arrested either after the attacks occurred or before they were carried out during the same period.
As a recent example, the minister said that suspects linked to an incident in the Somme region the previous Friday were arrested within eight hours. He added that the victim activated the emergency hotline set up for members of the cryptocurrency sector.
According to Nuñez, 724 people working in the industry have now registered on the government’s instant identification platforms, representing an 11% increase in participation. While full details of the government’s next steps have not yet been revealed, the minister said that all departments within the Ministry of Interior have developed a new security strategy that is “more ambitious” than previous efforts.
The plan revolves around three priorities. The first focuses on expanding intelligence sharing. Nunez stressed that those running these crimes are sometimes based outside France, making stronger intelligence gathering about criminal networks particularly important. The second priority aims to deepen cooperation with ADAN by creating a network of experts that connects participants in the cryptocurrency industry with relevant government officials.
The third priority seeks to improve operational coordination between law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt criminal groups, while also enhancing cooperation with countries where people believed to be organizing the attacks are located.
The minister said that cooperation with foreign authorities remains necessary. As an example, he cited the June 2025 arrest of a Franco-Moroccan man in Morocco on suspicion of ordering a series of kidnappings targeting the cryptocurrency industry. One of the victims He was Ledger co-founder David Baland. According to Nunez, this arrest led to the sudden end of the attacks.
Pain attacks continue
Similar attacks continued to occur elsewhere. In March, a cryptocurrency holder known as “Seletona” said armed attackers Forced He handed over nearly $24 million in digital assets during a violent robbery. According to the victim, the attackers used weapons and threatened kidnapping and sexual assault unless he transferred control of his cryptocurrency holdings.
Blockchain investigators later tracked the stolen funds as they were moved across multiple networks and converted into privacy coins to make tracking more difficult.
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