TheBlock
A couple in France's Somme department has endured three home invasions in a single month, with attackers hunting for roughly €1 million in cryptocurrency the residents do not actually own. The property's previous owners were crypto millionaires whose tax records and address leaked onto the dark web, and criminals have kept showing up at the wrong address since the new buyers moved in. On Monday, the Amiens criminal court sentenced two men aged 20 and 21 from the Île-de-France region in connection with the third attempted break-in.
Why it matters
The case is bizarre in its details but representative of a structural shift. Wrench attacks, where assailants physically force crypto holders to surrender their wallets, surged to record levels globally in 2025, and France has emerged as the epicenter. Chainalysis counted at least 30 such attacks on French soil in the first half of 2026, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told parliament in June that authorities had documented more than 70 crypto-related violent incidents nationwide.
France's exposure traces to a 2024 data breach in which a tax official stole and sold dossiers on high-net-worth crypto holders. The dark-web market for that data now powers a freelance criminal economy where attackers are hired for €300 transport runs and up to €30,000 for the actual intrusion. The misrouted Somme case shows the downside: targets keep moving, but the leaked dossiers do not.
Market impact
For institutional allocators weighing European exposure, the French pattern is now a physical-security line item. Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were kidnapped earlier this year, and the daughter and grandson of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat were attacked in two other high-profile assaults. A country where crypto wealth correlates with violent crime is a country where compliance, custody and relocation decisions get re-priced.
The victims in the Somme case were a farmer and a bank executive in their late twenties, restrained and assaulted on the second intrusion before the attackers realized they had the wrong occupants. Both convicted men received prison sentences, but the homeowners are now trying to sell.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is a wrench attack?
A wrench attack is when criminals physically assault or coerce a crypto holder into surrendering access to their wallets or seed phrases. The term comes from the idea that a cheap tool can beat any cryptographic protection.
-
Why is France the epicenter of crypto wrench attacks?
A 2024 data breach saw a French tax official steal and sell dossiers on high-net-worth crypto holders, putting names, addresses and holdings on the dark web. Chainalysis says at least 30 wrench attacks hit France in H1 2026, the highest count of any country.
-
Who was targeted in the Somme case?
The residents were a farmer and a bank executive in their late twenties who bought a small village house previously owned by crypto millionaires. They endured three break-ins in less than a month before the attackers realized they had the wrong occupants.
-
What sentences did the Amiens court hand down?
The court sentenced two men aged 20 and 21 from Île-de-France on Monday. One received three years in prison, the other 18 months, both with three-year bans from the Somme department and from contacting each other.
-
How do wrench attackers get the addresses of crypto holders?
Through data leaks and corporate breaches that put names, wallet addresses and residences onto dark-web markets. France's surge specifically traces to a 2024 tax-office breach and subsequent public disclosures that layered additional personal data on top.
CoinDesk
CoinTelegraph
CryptoSlate
WuBlockchain