DeutschThe number of physical crypto attacks continues to rise drastically. In January and February 2026 alone, there have already been 14 known attacks. Why France is a particularly dangerous place for investors of Bitcoin and co. and why the risk continues to rise internationally.
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14 Crypto Attacks in Two Months: France Remains the Epicenter
Crypto attacks continue to boom. In the first two months of 2026, there have already been at least 14 physical attacks on crypto users. France was already the sad leader in this category last year. Now the trend is continuing. In the new year, France remains the epicenter of crypto attacks.
GitHub user Beausecurity, a self-described former CIA employee, has been maintaining a list since 2018 documenting all physical attacks related to cryptocurrencies.
The list only documents publicly verifiable incidents. Beau believes the number of unreported similar attacks is high. The 2025 calendar year set a new record with 35 listed incidents. Until then, 2021 had the most attacks with 34 cases.
The targets of the attacks are publicly known crypto investors or industry entrepreneurs. Often, these are individuals whose crypto wealth is public knowledge or who have been involved in the scene for years.
In early 2025, criminals attacked and kidnapped Ledger co-founder David Balland to extort ransom in the form of crypto. The fact that cryptocurrencies are difficult to confiscate and sometimes hard to track seems to give criminals new courage.
The 2026 calendar year has so far been characterized by a particularly high frequency of incidents. In January and February alone, there have been 14 incidents so far—even though February isn’t even over yet. Eleven of the attacks took place in France.
On February 12, two so-called wrench attacks took place simultaneously in different regions of France. Victims include an unknown woman who appeared to be a random target, as well as David Prinçay, CEO of Binance France.
Why Wrench Attacks Are So Numerous in France
The enormous number of wrench attacks taking place in France makes coincidence seem almost impossible. According to a database from Glok.me, the USA is historically the location of the most crypto robberies. 53 attacks are recorded here. However, France is closing in on the previous record holder—currently totaling 35 cases.
Cyberattacks may have previously provided valuable groundwork for the criminals. An infiltration of the French state by criminals also apparently proved fatal for some crypto investors. The misuse of government databases is a popular tool.
As early as 2020, Global-e, a partner of the French manufacturer Ledger, became the target of a cyberattack. Data from around 270,000 international customers of the manufacturer was exposed.
In early 2026, it became known that Ghalia C.—a former employee of the French tax authority—leaked sensitive data to criminal networks. This included the addresses and names of crypto investors.
A few weeks later, the French tax service Waltio revealed a critical security incident. The data of 50,000 users fell into the hands of the attackers as a result.
Crypto Databases Grow, Putting Investors at Greater Risk
In France, the misuse of databases is the primary cause of frequent attacks on crypto investors. This risk could also grow drastically on an international level in the future—especially in the EU.
For years, there has been a trend among authorities to collect more and more user information. Before 2017, crypto exchanges usually allowed the purchase of crypto with fiat currencies without KYC. Nowadays, trading platforms require identification even for pure crypto-to-crypto trading.
The monitoring of blockchains by private companies also leads to growing databases. Automated blockchain analysis, such as from Chainalysis or TRM Labs, is already firmly implemented by many service providers.
Since January 1, 2026, EU DAC8 has been in effect—a new transparency rule governing the EU-wide exchange of crypto investor data. Annual reporting to tax authorities is causing data traffic to grow enormously. This could open up new risks for investors.
For those affected, a wrench attack has more than just financial consequences. Mental or physical damage can also occur. According to Glok, 23 incidents have already ended fatally.
In the German-speaking world, four wrench attacks are known—one in Germany and three in Austria. There are no known attacks within Switzerland.
