Kidnappers Release TikTok Crypto Influencer After Finding Out He’s Broke

Over the weekend, a 26-year-old TikTok crypto influencer was kidnapped and beaten by four men in Essonne, France, who later demanded a ransom paid in crypto.

According to an initial report from local publication Europe1, he was released by the kidnappers after they checked his wallet balance and found out he was broke: he didn’t have the $58,000 (€50,000) they were demanding.

The influencer’s kidnapping adds to a growing number of “wrench attack” cases in France targeting crypto holders.

Lawmakers are taking notice. Last week, French MP Paul Midy submitted a draft law to the National Assembly aimed at protecting crypto public figures by restricting access to their residential addresses in official registries, per a report from Les Echos.

The proposal seeks to prevent attackers from using public data to locate their victims. If passed, the bill could mark a concrete step toward protecting France’s crypto community from escalating physical threats.

Arrests in crypto kidnap case

French authorities, meanwhile, have arrested more suspects connected to the May kidnapping of a crypto entrepreneur’s father, marking progress in the country’s escalating crypto-crime crisis that has prompted warnings and mounting pressure on the government to act.

The arrests from Tuesday last week add to those already held by French police, with local media outlet France 24 reporting that the exact number of suspects taken into custody was not disclosed.

The primary incident involved four masked men seizing the victim in Paris’s 14th arrondissement on May 1, bundling him into a delivery van as bystanders watched. The kidnappers demanded millions of euros in ransom and severed one of the man’s fingers before police tactical units stormed a suburban hideout days later, freeing him.

Weeks later, French police confirmed that they had arrested twelve suspects in the case, including some involved in a separate kidnapping incident in Paris, with ransom usually demanded to be paid in crypto.

Earlier this month, police arrested the alleged mastermind behind a spate of crypto kidnappings, who was already wanted by Interpol at the time.

“Misguided” crypto kidnappers

Kidnappers seeking crypto payoffs are “misguided,” according to crypto wallet maker Trezor, which pointed out that “Bitcoin transactions are traceable on a public blockchain, and other cryptocurrencies like USDT can be frozen or reversed.”

Trezor highlighted cases like the kidnapping of Ledger co-founder David Balland, in which “95% of the USDT ransom was seized” following his release.

While Trezor and Ledger are direct competitors in the hardware wallet industry, Trezor expressed concern over what Ledger has been through.

“We at Trezor express our heartfelt sympathy to the victims and their families affected by the recent kidnappings in France,” it told Decrypt. “We hope authorities take these threats seriously and act to protect all citizens, regardless of their assets.”

France has been disproportionately affected by crypto-targeted violence, accounting for 14 of 50 such attacks globally over the past year, according to an estimate by Ledger co-founder Eric Larchevêque, who received the ransom demands for Balland.

The phenomenon, dubbed “$5 wrench attacks” in crypto circles, is named after a XKCD comic depicting how physical violence can defeat high-tech security. Outside of France, similar incidents targeting crypto executives and people holding crypto have grown in number.

Against such threats, Trezor told Decrypt that measures such as prioritizing physical, offline backups could go a long way in securing one’s crypto wallet. Optional tools, such as passphrases or multi-wallet setups, can further protect against physical threats, including coercion-based “wrench attacks,” the crypto wallet maker suggested.

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