France indicts 88 over crypto wrench attacks

TLDR

French prosecutors have charged 88 people, including minors, over a wave of violent crypto wrench attacks targeting digital asset holders in France.

1. Authorities link 88 suspects to 12 kidnapping and extortion cases where victims were forced to surrender crypto, with 75 already in pre-trial detention.
2. Recorded wrench attacks in France jumped from 18 in 2024 to 67 in 2025 and 47 so far in 2026, making the country a global hotspot for physical crypto crime.
3. The cases show how oversharing wealth signals and personal data can get you targeted, making social media hygiene, wallet setup, and physical safety critical parts of crypto security.

Deep Dive

1. What France Has Charged

French organized crime prosecutors say 88 suspects, including over 10 minors, have been charged in 12 active investigations into wrench attacks, where physical force is used to coerce crypto transfers. These include home invasions, kidnappings, extortion and forced wallet access, with 75 suspects in pre-trial detention under specialized judges at the Paris Judicial Court.

Incidents formally recorded by PNACO (the national organized crime office) rose from 18 in 2024 to 67 in 2025 and 47 already in 2026, suggesting a sharp escalation in physical attacks on crypto holders in a short period. Reports in outlets such as Cointelegraph and Decrypt describe prosecutors treating these cases as serious organized crime, not isolated robberies, with several suspects tied to multiple incidents revealing structured networks rather than lone actors.

2. From Cybercrime To Physical Attacks

These French cases illustrate a broader shift from purely online hacks to forced key extraction, where attackers target the person, not the protocol or exchange. CertiK data cited in multiple reports shows wrench attacks globally rose about 75 percent in 2025, with more than $40.9 million in losses and Europe, led by France, accounting for a large share.

Investigators and analysts say criminals are combining on-chain transparency with leaked or scraped personal data, social profiles, ethereum-name-service/">ENS names, trading screenshots, or public appearances to identify wealthy targets. Some commentary also points to alleged misuse of tax or identity databases by insiders, which, if accurate, would further increase targeting precision.

3. Practical Security Steps For Holders

Prosecutors and security experts repeatedly stress overexposure on social networks as a key risk factor and urge crypto users and their families not to brag about holdings, wallet sizes, or big wins publicly. They also recommend separating wallets (a public, low-balance spending wallet versus private cold storage), using hardware or multisig setups that are harder to operate under duress, and avoiding predictable routines around large transfers.

For those with sizable holdings or public profiles, adding physical and operational security matters as much as good key management: think about who knows your involvement, how easily your addresses can be linked to your identity, and whether family members could be pressured.

Conclusion

Frances mass indictments show that as crypto matures, the attack surface is increasingly the human behind the wallet, not just the code. For everyday users and especially visible whales or builders, the main takeaway is to treat privacy, social media behavior and physical security as integral parts of crypto risk management, not afterthoughts.