France has seen a disturbing series of attacks and kidnappings targeting crypto entrepreneurs and their loved ones in recent months. All incidents share a common goal: ransom payments. Some attacks have ended successfully for the perpetrators, and this has caused such serious concern that intervention was required at the level of the Interior Ministry.
On 16 May, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau gathered the heads of cryptocurrency companies for a special meeting. The occasion was the recent, almost successful kidnapping of the daughter and granddaughter of Pierre Noizat, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Paymium. On the morning of 13 May in Paris, a woman with her two-year-old daughter was attacked by unknown assailants, but her husband and passers-by were able to prevent the crime.
This is not the first such case. In January 2025, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and his wife were kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded 10 million euros, threatened to kill them and even cut off Balland’s finger to prove they were serious. The police were able to free the victim, but only after part of the ransom was paid and later partially returned.
Balland’s story is not the only incident. In August 2023, the father of Killian Desnos, a French poker streamer known for his YouTube and Twitch activity, was kidnapped. Threatening videos and ransom demands prompted Desnos to pay up, and his father was released. Interestingly, one of the kidnappers later turned out to be involved in Balland’s abduction as well – despite the fact that he was in custody at the time of the organisation.
Minister Retailleau was blunt: these cases are not isolated episodes. According to him, there is a criminal group acting in a targeted and professional manner. The customers of the attacks find executors among young criminals who are instructed via Telegram and Signal. Often these perpetrators lack the necessary skills, which explains the frequent failure of kidnapping attempts.
Of particular concern is the ease with which criminals find their targets. Firstly, due to large leaks of cryptocurrency companies‘ customers’ personal data, account and address information is circulating on the internet. Secondly, French public registries of companies often include the home addresses of the owners. Thirdly, many crypto-rich people themselves increase the risk by showing a lavish lifestyle on social networks and neglecting basic security measures.
France is not the only country facing such a threat. In July 2024, Australian crypto billionaire Tim Heath was attempted to be kidnapped in Estonia, and in September of the same year, a 12-member gang was convicted in the U.S. for systematically targeting owners of large crypto savings, beating out passwords with threats and torture.
The growing wealth in the crypto sector is not only generating economic opportunities, but also new forms of violence. While technology is advancing rapidly, security has not kept pace.
