French prosecutors have logged 90 cases of kidnapping, extortion, threats and theft targeting crypto holders over a seven-month window, according to data shared by the Parquet national anti-criminalité organisée (Pnaco) and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.

The figures, current to June 2026, document a sharp acceleration in physical attacks on digital-asset holders. Pnaco recorded 77 violent incidents against people involved with crypto in the first half of 2026, against 45 across all of 2025. Publicly visible attacks climbed from 19 in 2025 to 30 in the first six months of this year.

The monthly rate reflects the same trajectory. Attacks ran at roughly 1.9 per month in 2025 and rose to about 4.6 per month in early 2026 — a 142% increase in cadence.

What is driving the attacks?

The common vector is not protocol exploitation or wallet compromise. It is data leakage. Investigators say perpetrators are using personal information from breaches to identify and locate holders before confronting them in person, a category of physical coercion widely termed "wrench attacks."

The cited example is the breach at Waltio, a French crypto tax platform, which exposed records tied to roughly 50,000 users. Tax filings reveal not just name and address but signals of holdings, making the dataset especially useful to attackers.

How is French law enforcement responding?

Roughly 200 arrests have been made in connection with these incidents. By spring 2026, formal charges had been brought against 88 individuals, including ten minors, across 12 distinct cases. The presence of juveniles among the accused suggests networks are recruiting young people to handle the in-person side of operations.

Pnaco sits inside France's national judiciary as the office focused on organized crime. Its lead role signals how the state is classifying the threat: as organized, networked and increasingly routine.

What does this mean for the industry?

For exchanges, custodians and tax platforms, the episode reframes identity data as a physical-safety exposure, not only a compliance one. KYC and tax-reporting obligations remain in force, yet the same records, once exfiltrated, can be converted into targeting intelligence.

Losses linked to violent incidents exceeded $30 million globally in the first half of 2026, a figure that captures direct theft during attacks and likely understates the full economic impact on victims and families.

For policy, the data underscores a tension. Regulators require platforms to collect identity data to fight money laundering. The same records, once leaked, can guide violent criminals to specific addresses and known holders.

What should readers watch next?

Three indicators will mark whether the trend breaks. The first is the monthly attack rate relative to the 4.6-per-month baseline recorded in early 2026. The second is how many of the 12 active prosecutions reach trial and produce precedent-setting rulings. The third is whether additional data breaches surface at crypto service providers handling holdings, tax or KYC data.

Each subsequent leak at a vendor with comparable sensitivity to Waltio's would extend the pool from which attackers can draw future targets.