France is famous for things like the Eiffel Tower and fashion, but crypto kidnappings have also joined that list.
Following a persistent series of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings, the media is now calling France the “crypto kidnapping capital of the world.”
France, world capital of cryptokidnapping
France has had a bad reputation lately, and 2026 saw this trend continue. This has just been done appointed the main hub for crypto-related kidnappings, also known as keystrokes, a new form of crime that has become increasingly frequent in recent times.
Key attacks often involve physical attacks or the use of threats and kidnapping to force victims to transfer their digital assets. According to a recent special Gravitas report from WION, there were as many as 19 key attacks in France last year, the most of any country in the world.
This year alone, the country has witnessed six different cases of brutal attacks, cementing the country’s position as the global epicenter of this new type of crime, and the stories are horrific.
As a cryptopolite reported Earlier this month, David Prinçay, CEO of Binance France, was the victim of a poorly executed home invasion in Val-de-Marne. Local police reports indicated that three masked men, allegedly armed, broke into a residential building early on February 12, around 7 a.m., in an attempt to find the local CEO of Binance.
Earlier this month, the partner of a 35-year-old magistrate in France received a photo of her partner Accompanied by threats to mutilate it if they did not pay a ransom in cryptocurrency.
The man’s wife had been targeted because he was a partner in a start-up cryptocurrency company. He reported the request to French police, sparking a multi-agency manhunt involving up to 160 officers.
The magistrate and her elderly mother remained in the custody of the kidnappers for 30 hours in a garage in Drôme, southern France, until they received help from a neighbor who heard their commotion and helped them escape.
No ransom was paid in this case and French authorities reportedly arrested six suspects in connection with the case. This is one of the latest crypto-related kidnappings to occur in France, which has faced a wave of crypto-related keystroke attacks and violent kidnappings targeting crypto natives.
The engine of violence
Keystroke attacks have been a problem for the crypto industry for years. However, the recent spate of high-profile violent attacks over the past year has increased the threat level for crypto investors, particularly those located in France.
Several factors are fueling this increase, the biggest being data breaches. In June 2025, French media reported that an employee of the country’s tax agency regularly provided other suspected criminals with data on different crypto investors in the country.
To make matters worse, this past January it was revealed that Waltioa service that allows investors to calculate and report their crypto capital gains for tax returns, has been hacked. This attack allowed attackers to access the data of 50,000 Waltio customers, including their email addresses and 2024 tax returns.
Sensitive leaks are one thing, but another factor that makes crypto such an attractive sector for key attacks is that crypto is a more convenient target to steal as digital assets become more and more ubiquitous.
“As adoption of cryptocurrencies grows and more value is held directly by individuals, criminals have increasing incentives to bypass technical defenses completely and target people instead,” said Ari Redbord, global head of policy at TRM Labs.
The incidents have struck fear into the hearts of many crypto natives, forcing many to invest in physical security, especially when traveling to France.
A critical observation
Globally, the frequency of key attacks has increased 75% year over year since 2024, with approximately 25 kidnappings and 3 murders accounting for more than $40 million in losses.
Europe accounts for almost 40% of all these incidents, with France well ahead of most countries. Most of the perpetrators arrested are young people, often minors or young adults recruited via applications like Telegram and paid relatively modest sums to carry out their attacks.
However, despite the arrests and the seriousness of the crimes, no convictions have been handed down, which experts say contributes to the lack of deterrence. As more key attacks are recorded, pressure is growing on the French government to impose tougher penalties on convicted criminals and increase protections for its crypto population.