According to a report by Bitcoin journalist Joe Nakamoto, nearly 70% of physical attacks (wrench attacks) on cryptocurrency owners and their families to steal digital assets occur in France. Data shows that 41 crypto-related kidnappings have been recorded in the country since the beginning of 2026, meaning one attack occurs every two and a half days. This is reported by Cointelegraph.com .
Nakamoto attributes the rise in such attacks to the collection of KYC (Know Your Customer) data. This information, stored on centralized servers, fell into the hands of criminals following several major leaks, including the 2020 breach of the Ledger hardware wallet provider's customer database. This leak exposed the identities, home addresses, and emails of over 270,000 customers worldwide.
Jameson Lopp, head of Casa, notes that there is growing opposition within the crypto community to the collection of KYC data. As digital asset owners become targets for physical attacks and kidnappings, the need to strengthen security measures is increasing. Attacks are usually organized by criminals living abroad, with youths in France hired as executors.
Experts recommend that users utilize specialized custodial services to ensure security. Such services allow for freezing assets during an attack and alerting law enforcement agencies. Additionally, keeping "decoy" wallets with small amounts of funds to distract attackers is suggested as an effective method.
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