After a significant rise in crypto-related kidnappings in France, the government has decided to enhance the security measures for Crypto entrepreneurs and their families, as per Politico. As per the report of the American media firm released on May 16, the measures will prioritise access to police emergency lines, home

• The interior minister of France, Bruno Retailleau, has enhanced the security measures in order to counter the increasing attacks in the crypto sector. 
• The Minister had a word with various local leaders of the industry regarding measures taken after 3 crypto kidnapping events. 

After a significant rise in crypto-related kidnappings in France, the government has decided to enhance the security measures for Crypto entrepreneurs and their families, as per Politico.

As per the report of the American media firm released on May 16, the measures will prioritise access to police emergency lines, home security assessments, and safety briefings from French law enforcement. The measure is taken to make sure that the best practices are being followed. 

The interior minister of France, Bruno Retailleau, has enhanced the security measures in order to counter the increasing attacks in the crypto sector. The Minister mentioned that the repeated kidnappings of professionals in the industry will be fought with certain tools that will prevent and obstruct the attacks to protect the industry. 

The law enforcement officers will be trained in anti-crypto asset laundering. The Minister had a word with various local leaders of the industry regarding measures taken after 3 crypto kidnapping events occurred in recent times.

The Recent Attacks

On May 13, the attackers tried to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Noizat, the chief executive officer of the French crypto platform, Paymium. However, the attackers failed to do so. 

As per the local police, the kidnappers forcefully dragged both of them into a waiting van, but Noizat’s daughter somehow managed to take one of the guns off the kidnapper and threw it away. 

In January 2025, the co-founder of Ledger, David Beland, was kidnapped from his home in Central France on January 21. After the incident, police started their operation, and on the night of January 22, they managed to release him. 

As per Retailleau, both incidents were possibly linked. Since 2014, around 150 crypto-associated robbery or kidnapping events have been recorded, and 23 of those events have happened this year alone, as per the GitHub database. 

Kidnappers identify their victims by social media posts, public conversations, meetups, or attending conferences. A Bitcoin cyberpunk, James Loop, has advised that you should not flaunt your wealth on social media and wear crypto-branded clothing, especially with people you don’t trust. 

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