French authorities count 90 crypto-related crimes in seven months

French authorities have logged 90 crypto-related cases of kidnapping, extortion, threats and theft over a span of seven months. That is a lot of crime aimed at people whose main offense was owning digital assets.

The common thread is not some clever hack of a blockchain. It is data breaches that expose who victims are and where they can be found. The weak point in self-custody, it turns out, is the person holding the keys.

The numbers behind the surge

There were 77 reported cases of violent crimes against people involved with crypto in the first half of 2026. That compares with 45 incidents across the whole of 2025.

Figures from the Parquet national anti-criminalité organisée (Pnaco) and Chainalysis show more than 70 such incidents documented by June 2026. Pnaco is France’s national prosecutor’s office focused on organized crime, which tells you how seriously the state is treating this.

France recorded 19 public incidents of violent attacks on crypto holders in 2025. That figure climbed to 30 in the first half of 2026 alone.

Attacks ran at roughly 1.9 per month in 2025 and rose to about 4.6 per month in early 2026.

Reported global thefts linked to these incidents topped $30 million in the first half of 2026.

Wrench attacks and the data leak problem

These crimes are widely known as “wrench attacks.” The name comes from a simple idea: no encryption can stop someone who threatens you in person until you hand over your keys.

France has emerged as a global hotspot for this kind of activity. The pattern, according to the research findings, often lines up with data breaches in which criminals use leaked personal details to pick and locate targets.

One cited example is a leak at Waltio, a crypto tax platform, which affected around 50,000 users. Tax data is especially sensitive here. It can reveal not just a name and address, but signals about how much someone holds.

How French law enforcement is responding

Roughly 200 arrests have been made in connection with these incidents.

By spring 2026, formal charges had been brought against 88 individuals, including ten minors, across 12 different cases. Minors are among those charged, a detail that suggests some networks recruit young people to carry out the physical side of the operations.

Investigators are focused on taking apart networks that are often coordinated across borders. The government has also moved to strengthen security measures and encourage intelligence sharing within the crypto community.

What this means for crypto holders and the industry

For crypto businesses, exchanges, tax tools and other platforms that collect identity and holdings data become high-value targets when that information can be turned into a kidnapping plan. A breach is no longer just a compliance headache. It can put customers in physical danger.

Regulators require platforms to collect identity data to fight money laundering. The same records, once leaked, can help violent criminals.

The figures to track are straightforward. Watch whether the monthly attack rate keeps rising from the roughly 4.6 per month seen in early 2026, whether more of the 12 active cases reach trial, and whether new data breaches surface at crypto service providers.