French Police Rescue Kidnapped Father of Crypto Millionaire: Reports
By: decrypt|2025/05/05 01:45:01
0
Share
French Police Rescue Kidnapped Father of Crypto Millionaire: Reports Five suspects were arrested after severing a victim's finger in the latest "wrench attack" involving attempts at crypto extortion. In brief The father of a crypto entrepreneur was freed in a police raid after kidnappers demanded ransom in crypto. Attackers severed the victim's finger in an attack mirroring January's Ledger founder kidnapping. The Incident marks the third crypto-related kidnapping in France this year as violent extortions continue. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. French authorities have rescued the father of a crypto millionaire through a coordinated raid Saturday night, days after being held hostage. The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, was abducted in broad daylight Thursday morning in Paris's 14th arrondissement when four masked men forced him into a nondescript delivery van, according to initial reporting from Le Monde with Agence France-Presse . Reports from the Paris prosecutor's office indicate police located the victim Saturday night at a rental property in the Essonne region south of Paris. The five suspects, all in their twenties, were arrested during the operation led by specialized cybercrime and intervention units. Separate reporting from Le Parisien claimed the kidnappers had demanded between €5 (US$5.6 million) and €7 million (US$7.95 million) in crypto after severing one of the victim's fingers. "The victim appears to be the father of a man who made his fortune in cryptocurrencies," a prosecutor's office spokesperson stated. Investigators later learned from the victim's wife that her husband and their son operated a crypto marketing firm registered in Malta. No ransom was paid before the rescue, French authorities confirmed. Wrench attacks continue The incident represents the latest in what security experts call "wrench attacks"—physical threats used to override crypto's digital security measures. The term originates from a 2012 XKCD comic , according to the first comprehensive study on wrench attacks done by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University College of London, as previously reported by Decrypt. These kinds of attacks "undermine the efficacy of existing digital security norms when confronted with real-world threats," the researchers said. In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped and mutilated before police rescued him in what Ledger Chairman and CEO Pascal Gauthier described as a "traumatic situation that we hope will never be repeated." Jameson Lopp, co-founder and chief technology officer of Bitcoin security firm Casa, documents physical Bitcoin attacks in a GitHub repository. The list shows the Paris incident as the 21st attack this year. Wrench attacks are "roughly correlated with the size of the market and overall adoption of crypto," Lopp told Decrypt in February. Security experts such as Rigel Walshe, developer at Swan Bitcoin and former police constable in the New Zealand Police Force, urge crypto holders to practice "relaxed awareness" and stay "alert and prepared," among other easy security measures that could be done to prevent wrench attacks. Edited by Sebastian Sinclair Daily Debrief Newsletter
You may also like
Major Update for ChatGPT: Cross-Platform Functionality, One-Click Website Creation, and Lower Costs
BTC Challenges 64,000 After Breaking 63,000, Market Trading 'Manageable Risks'
As the Bubble Bursts, Who Dominates Attention in the AI Era? A 2026 Guide to Influential AI KOLs in China and the UK
Old Money in Crypto Shifts: Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion, Half Bet on AI and Robotics
Bitdeer unveils $36M Nevada factory to shake up Bitcoin mining
Perplexity Fine-Tuned a Chinese AI Model to Match Claude Opus 4.8 at One-Third the Cost
Bank of Korea defends bank-first stablecoin plan amid bill deadlock
JPMorgan says bitcoin's main risk isn't Strategy, but blockchain adoption that doesn't benefit public chains and tokens
Fear & Greed Index Today: What Extreme Fear Means for Crypto, Stocks and Gold
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to Extreme Fear as Tesla, Intel and the Nasdaq declined. See what it means for traders and explore stocks, crude oil and gold in the WEEX TradFi Trading Challenge.
Labour MPs Push to Make UK Crypto Donation Ban Permanent
Supreme Court ruling expanding Trump's authority over federal agencies raises questions for SEC, CFTC as crypto rulemaking advances
'Bottom building in progress': Analysts say bitcoin holder capitulation signals late-stage bear market
A Comprehensive Analysis: Starting from 1996, Who is Laying the Foundation for the Next Generation of Capital Markets
Luke Dashjr, the Biggest Anti-Spammer of Bitcoin, Inscribed Phrases on the Network in 2011
Whales bought 270,000 BTC while ETFs bled $7 billion. One side is wrong
The crypto IPO class of 2025-26 is down as much as 89%. Autopsy of a listing boom
Robinhood Chain Mining Guide: A Comprehensive Tutorial from Cross-Chain to Memecoin
BitGo CEO says single-digit percentages of bitcoin's supply are 'probably right' for large holders amid Strategy's sale
Major Update for ChatGPT: Cross-Platform Functionality, One-Click Website Creation, and Lower Costs
BTC Challenges 64,000 After Breaking 63,000, Market Trading 'Manageable Risks'
As the Bubble Bursts, Who Dominates Attention in the AI Era? A 2026 Guide to Influential AI KOLs in China and the UK
Old Money in Crypto Shifts: Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion, Half Bet on AI and Robotics
Bitdeer unveils $36M Nevada factory to shake up Bitcoin mining
Perplexity Fine-Tuned a Chinese AI Model to Match Claude Opus 4.8 at One-Third the Cost
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com


