The French government has intensified measures to combat the increase in crimes related to cryptocurrencies after recording 77 incidents since the beginning of the year. The cases involve kidnappings, attempted kidnappings, and extortion against people associated with the sector, leading the Ministry of the Interior to announce a broader security strategy to address this type of threat.
During a meeting with the Association of Digital Asset Holders (ADAN), the Interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, stated that the number represents a significant increase compared with the 45 cases recorded in 2025. Despite the rise, the minister said that the emergency actions taken previously produced important results.
According to Nuñez, approximately 200 people were arrested in the last few months, both after completed attacks and in preventive operations that prevented new crimes. As an example, he cited a case that occurred in the Somme region, in which the suspects were located and arrested just eight hours after the incident.
The minister explained that the rapid response was possible because the victim used a direct emergency line created specifically for members of the cryptocurrency market. In addition, he said that 724 sector professionals have already joined the government’s immediate identification system, a figure that represents an 11% growth in participation.
Although the full details of the new policy have not yet been released, Nuñez said that all departments of the Ministry of the Interior participated in the development of a security strategy "more ambitious" than previous ones.
The plan will be based on three main pillars. The first calls for increasing the sharing of intelligence information, especially because part of the criminal organizations operates outside French territory. The goal is to identify more quickly the networks responsible for the attacks.
The second front seeks to expand cooperation between the government and ADAN, forming a network of specialists to bring cryptocurrency sector companies closer to the authorities responsible for investigating these crimes.
Meanwhile, the third priority intends to improve coordination among French security forces and expand collaboration with foreign authorities to locate and dismantle criminal groups that organize attacks from other countries.
Nuñez highlighted that this international cooperation has already produced important results. As an example, he recalled the arrest, in June 2025, in Morocco, of a Franco-Moroccan suspect believed to be commanding a series of kidnappings targeting members of the cryptocurrency industry. Among the victims was David Balland, cofounder of Ledger. According to the minister, the capture of the suspect interrupted the sequence of attacks.
Even so, similar crimes continue to be recorded in different parts of the world. In March, an investor known by the pseudonym "Sillytuna" said he was forced by armed criminals to transfer approximately US$ 24 million in cryptocurrencies during a violent robbery. According to his account, the criminals used weapons and issued threats of kidnapping and sexual assault if he refused to hand over control of the digital assets.
Subsequently, specialized blockchain investigators were able to track part of the movement of the stolen funds, identifying transfers between various networks before they were converted into privacy-focused coins, used to make tracking the resources more difficult.