Incident Review: Home Invasion and USB Wallet Robbery
On the evening of January 6, a gunpoint home invasion occurred in the southern French town of Manosque. Three masked assailants broke into a residence on Chemin Champs de Pruniers, threatened a female victim with firearms, and used physical violence before fleeing with a USB device containing her partner’s cryptocurrency data. The victim managed to free herself within minutes and alert authorities. The case has since been handed over to regional criminal investigators and the French National Police.
While appearing to be an ordinary armed robbery, the incident exposes a growing global threat: so-called “wrench attacks” targeting cryptocurrency holders are rapidly spreading.
France: An Unexpected Epicenter of Crypto Violence
The data is alarming. A public database maintained by Jameson Lopp, CTO of security firm Casa, records over 70 crypto-related violent crimes globally in 2024 alone. More than 14 of these occurred in France, making it the epicenter of violent crypto crime in Europe.
In just the first five months of 2025, France has already seen multiple high-profile incidents drawing national attention, with increasingly bold and violent tactics.
A Timeline of Major Crypto Crimes in France (2025)
January: Kidnapping of a Ledger Co-founder David Balland, one of the original co-founders of Ledger—France’s crypto hardware wallet unicorn—was abducted from his home in Vierzon by a professional criminal team. He and his partner were detained separately and released only after a ransom was paid. Balland suffered severe physical injuries. The irony is striking: Ledger’s core business is securing digital assets, yet its founder fell victim to extreme physical violence.
May 1: Daylight Kidnapping in Paris At 10:30 a.m. in Paris’s 14th arrondissement, a 60-year-old man was forcibly dragged into a van by four masked attackers. He was the father of a young entrepreneur who had accumulated substantial crypto wealth in Malta. The kidnappers demanded €5–7 million in cryptocurrency. When police rescued the victim 58 hours later, he had sustained serious injuries inflicted to pressure his family.
May 13: Attempted Kidnapping During School Drop-off At 8:20 a.m. in Paris’s 11th arrondissement, three masked men jumped out of a white van and attempted to abduct the daughter and two-year-old grandson of Pierre Noizat, founder and CEO of the French crypto exchange Paymium. The victim’s husband fought back and suffered a skull fracture from blunt force. A bystander threw a fire extinguisher at the attackers, and collective resistance prevented the kidnapping. The incident, captured on video, spread rapidly online and shocked French society.
These cases share disturbing characteristics: public locations, daylight execution, professional coordination, targeting of family members, and extreme violence. French media have begun warning of the country’s “Mexicanization,” drawing parallels with cartel-style crime.
Systemic Vulnerabilities in the Crime Chain
Data Leaks: The Starting Point of Violence
In June 2024, a shocking revelation emerged: a French tax official was charged with abusing access to national tax databases. Using internal systems, he searched addresses, income records, and family details unrelated to his duties to identify crypto investors and passed the information to criminal groups. At least one violent attack occurred after the data leak.
This was not an isolated incident. In 2020, Ledger suffered a major data breach exposing the names and home addresses of thousands of hardware wallet customers. The concentration of crypto firms in France, founders’ local residency, public industry events, and repeated data leaks have collectively created a “target map” for criminals.
The Double-Edged Nature of Blockchain
Cryptocurrency’s characteristics—global liquidity, 24/7 markets, near-instant cross-border transfers, and ease of moving large sums—provide strong incentives for crime.
At the same time, blockchain traceability offers law enforcement a critical advantage. South Korean cybersecurity expert Baek notes that established French criminal networks increasingly use crypto because it offers “higher profit margins,” “faster cross-border transfers,” and “lower perceived traceability than cash or traditional banking.”
However, experts emphasize that illicit crypto must eventually be converted into fiat currency—this conversion point remains law enforcement’s key leverage.
The Paradox of Self-Custody
The crypto industry has long promoted self-custody: “Not your keys, not your coins.” Hardware wallets, cold storage, and multisignature schemes form formidable digital fortresses. Yet the Balland case demonstrates a brutal truth: the strongest cryptography fails if its guardian can be threatened. Criminals do not need to break encryption—only to wield a gun or a knife.
Industry Response: A Dual Line of Defense
Personal Security Measures
Security experts consistently emphasize one principle: discretion. Avoid public discussions of holdings, lifestyle signals that mark you as a target, or detailed self-custody setups—especially on social media.
Technically, multisignature wallets and time-delayed withdrawals increase attack resistance. As Phil Ariss, Director of UK Public Sector Relations at TRM Labs, explains:
“With multisig setups, no single individual can move funds alone—multiple approvals are required.”
This means kidnapping one person is insufficient for immediate asset access.
Physical security remains equally vital: alarms, secure storage, vetted travel arrangements, and avoiding public linkage between identity and wallet addresses.
The Need for Industry-Level Monitoring
Transaction transparency is both crypto’s strength and its challenge. When illicit fund flows are involved, KYT (Know Your Transaction) becomes a critical tool for detection and disruption.
Blockchain intelligence platforms can track suspicious activity in real time. Even when funds pass through multiple wallets or laundering services, professional tools help trace flows, identify off-ramps, and support asset recovery. Ariss stresses real-time coordination:
“At some point, illicit funds must be cashed out or converted to fiat. That’s where exchanges, compliance teams, and law enforcement must work together.”
Platforms such as Trustformer KYT provide transaction monitoring and risk assessment to help institutions detect suspicious patterns. Still, technology alone is insufficient—effective protection requires coordinated efforts across individuals, institutions, and authorities.
Policy and Law Enforcement Awakening
French authorities have begun to recognize the severity of the issue. Following the May 13 Paymium-related attack, the Interior Ministry discussed protective measures for individuals known to hold significant crypto assets. On May 30, 25 suspects were brought before investigating judges on charges including attempted kidnapping and criminal conspiracy.
Yet this remains a cat-and-mouse game. Global regulators, including the FATF, have long warned that crypto assets risk becoming havens for criminal and terrorist financing. The tension between technological anonymity and enforcement lag is unlikely to disappear quickly.
A Deeper Question: Visibility and Vulnerability of Wealth
Crypto promises decentralization and financial sovereignty—but introduces new vulnerabilities. In traditional banking, wealth is abstract and institutionally protected. In crypto, ownership is physical: hardware wallets, seed phrases, and private keys often reside at home.
France’s experience also exposes a sociological dilemma: how should societies protect newly wealthy crypto holders? Traditional elites rely on private security and institutional buffers. Early crypto adopters and founders often lack comparable protection.
The U.S. offers a parallel warning. In September 2024, Gilbert St. Felix was sentenced to 47 years—the longest crypto-related sentence to date—for leading violent home invasion robberies targeting crypto holders. His group tracked victims and even accessed iCloud accounts to monitor physical locations before stealing hardware wallets.
Conclusion: An Unavoidable New Normal?
The Manosque USB robbery is merely the latest chapter in a global trend. From the U.S. to France, from home invasions to daylight kidnappings, violent crime against crypto holders is becoming a disturbing “new normal.”
The industry is maturing—but criminals learn just as fast. A vast gap remains between technology, personal security awareness, enforcement capacity, and regulation. Until that gap is closed, every crypto holder must ask: How secure is my digital wealth? Have I unknowingly made myself a target?
Perhaps the industry’s greatest lesson is not how to make cryptography more complex—but how to make its holders less visible. Between decentralized ideals and centralized violence, the answer may be far more complex—and contradictory—than we expect.