French Crypto Worker Transfers €40K After Gang Ties Up His Family

A group of four attackers wearing hoods entered a residence in northern France over the weekend. They forced the father, employed in the crypto field, to move 40,000 euros in digital currency.

The assailants used black tape to restrain both parents and their two children, ages 8 and 12. Authorities have made no arrests and continue searching for the four suspects.

Another French Wrench Attack: Family of Four Held Hostage Over Crypto Transfer

The break-in occurred at around 4 a.m. on September 20 in Vendin-le-Vieil, Pas-de-Calais, based on information from the Béthune public prosecutor’s office, as told by ICI.

The father is a salaried IT professional active in the crypto industry. After the group searched the home, he was attacked. The intruders demanded his identifying information and access codes, then had him move 40,000 euros in crypto.

According to a source close to the investigation, the man’s 12-year-old daughter was hit in the face with a car key. After spending more than three hours inside the home, the assailants left in a vehicle. The family freed themselves, and firefighters treated all four for shock.

Investigators have not explained how the attackers identified the father as someone with crypto holdings. The case has been opened on charges of confining multiple people and extortion by an organized gang, with the interdepartmental judicial police of Pas-de-Calais and Nord handling it alongside France’s anti-cybercrime office.

A Familiar Pattern in France

This incident follows a string of similar attacks that have made France a hotspot for violent crypto crime. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated in June that since January, the country had recorded 77 kidnappings, confinements, extortions, and attempts connected to the sector.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis identified 30 publicly known incidents in France through mid-2026, compared with 19 throughout all of 2025. The rate has risen from about 1.9 attacks monthly last year to around 4.6 in the first half of this year.

The company links much of that increase to a 2024 data breach. A tax official in the Paris area reportedly stole and sold files on wealthy crypto holders, containing addresses, holdings, and phone numbers.

Two additional patterns align with this case. Home invasions accounted for 37% of global incidents by mid-2026, up from 26% in 2023. In France, over 40% of attacks now involve a relative of the holder instead of the holder directly.

Executives have not been spared, with normal employees also targeted. In February, masked individuals stormed the home of Binance France president David Prinçay but fled after discovering he was not present.