In the town of Ploudalmézeau in northwestern France, two armed men entered the house of a family and took approximately 700 thousand euros ($820 thousand) worth of cryptocurrency. According to information in the local media, the mother, her two young children and two grandparents were at home at the time of the incident. The attackers forced the family members to the ground and tied them up for more than three hours and demanded access information to their crypto assets. Under this pressure, the mother gained access to the accounts and the attackers fled the scene after the money was transferred.
The attackers escaped with the neighbor’s intervention
It was stated that the attackers quickly fled the area using the family’s vehicle after the intervention of one of the neighbors. Thanks to the neighbor who heard the alarm after the incident, the attackers had to escape before the situation got worse. Police found the vehicle stolen during the robbery abandoned in the city of Brest in the evening.
While the gendarmerie investigation unit in Rennes has launched an investigation regarding the incident, no detention or arrest information has been shared so far. In France, there has been a remarkable increase in theft and kidnapping cases involving physical force against cryptocurrency holders.
Increase in crypto robberies
This incident once again brought to the fore the fact that attacks related to digital assets have increased throughout France in the last two years. According to French judicial police records, more than 40 cryptocurrency-related kidnappings and hostage-taking cases have been recorded in the country since January. By 2025, this number was reported to be approximately 30, so the increase is remarkable.
During the raid on the home of a couple in their fifties near Paris in March, the attackers disguised themselves as police and forced the couple to send bitcoins worth 900 thousand euros ($1 million) and then escaped. In February, three armed attackers attempted an unsuccessful home raid on David Princay, manager of Binance France; The suspects went to two different addresses, then stole two mobile phones and were caught at Lyon Perrache station.
In another incident, in a kidnapping attempt against a judicial judge and his mother, the attackers reportedly demanded cryptocurrency ransom and threatened physical violence. As a result of this attempt, six people were detained.
Increase in operations against crypto crimes
Investigator ZachXBT says it intervened in a hijacking linked to French broadcaster TeufeurS late last year. In the incident, the attackers kidnapped family members and demanded a ransom of $2 million. With the joint work carried out with Binance’s security team, approximately 800 thousand dollars were frozen and it was recorded that six people were caught at the end of the process.
These recent cases indicate that cryptocurrency holders may be exposed not only to digital fraud but also to physical threats. Police records show that authorities, especially in France, are under pressure to combat new types of crime created by digital assets.
The numbers of such attacks are rising rapidly in France; More than 40 incidents have been recorded in recent months, resulting in large amounts of cryptocurrency losses.
