TL;DR
- France is preparing new measures to protect crypto investors after minister Jean-Didier Berger said authorities had launched preventative steps and were drafting a broader response.
- The push follows another crypto-linked kidnapping in Burgundy and rising pressure after 41 reported cases in France since the start of 2026.
- CertiK figures cited in the article showed verified wrench attacks worldwide rose 75% in 2025, with France leading confirmed incidents.
France is preparing new measures to protect cryptocurrency investors after a string of violent kidnappings and wrench attacks pushed the issue into the political mainstream. The shift is notable because crypto security is no longer being discussed only as a technical problem, but as a public safety challenge demanding response. Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week, Jean-Didier Berger, minister delegate to the interior minister, said authorities had already introduced preventative steps, including a prevention platform with thousands of sign-ups, and were working on a broader plan expected in the coming weeks.
The announcement came days after another reported crypto-linked abduction in Burgundy, where a mother and her 11-year-old child were allegedly kidnapped by four suspects seeking a 400,000 euro, or about $471,000, ransom from the father, described as a crypto entrepreneur. That case sharpened the sense that France is facing not isolated incidents, but a pattern of targeted violence around digital wealth. Authorities freed the victims on Tuesday morning and detained the suspects, adding urgency to calls for stronger protections for holders.
France’s Crypto Crime Problem Is Becoming Harder to Ignore
France has emerged as one of the most visible centers for wrench attacks, the name given to assaults or threats used to force victims to transfer digital assets. The scale of the increase is what now makes the issue politically difficult to sideline. Local media reported 41 crypto-related kidnappings in France since the start of 2026, which works out to roughly one similar attack every 2.5 days. Separate data from cybersecurity firm CertiK showed verified wrench attacks worldwide rose 75% in 2025 to 72 cases, with France recording 19 confirmed incidents.
The newer measures are unfolding against a backdrop of earlier attacks that already suggested the risk was becoming embedded in the country’s crypto landscape. What seems to be changing now is the level of official recognition that physical coercion has become part of the threat model for digital assets. A French couple in their late 50s was robbed of $1 million in Bitcoin by criminals posing as police in March, while six people were arrested in February over the crypto-linked kidnapping of a magistrate and her mother. Berger’s comments suggest the government now sees prevention as an urgent policy issue.
