90 cases of cryptocurrency related violence in France, with data breaches as the main cause

From January 1st to mid August 2026, France recorded 90 cases of cryptocurrency related kidnapping, extortion, threats, and violent theft, with 223 arrests and 126 people imprisoned by the police. Chainalysis counted 30 violent attacks in France during the year, with Gart.io tracking 73, higher than the 66 in the United States and 27 in the United Kingdom. Eric Jardine believes that the surge in attacks is related to data breaches, with French tax data breaches and Waltio user data breaches allowing attackers to obtain holder information. More than 40% of attacks in France involve relatives or acquaintances of victims, and criminals target them through social media, on chain data, and leaked information.