Four hooded men broke into a family home in northern France over the weekend and forced the father, who works in the cryptocurrency sector, to transfer 40,000 euros in digital assets.

The intruders bound both parents and their two children, aged 8 and 12, with black tape before feeling. The police have made no arrests yet and are still hunting all four.

Another French Wrench Attack: Family of Four Held Hostage Over Crypto Transfer

The men forced their way into the house located in Vendin-le-Vieil, in Pas-de-Calais, at around 4 a.m. on September 20, according to the Béthune public prosecutor’s office, whose account was reported by ICI.

The father is a salaried IT specialist working in the crypto industry. He was assaulted after the group searched the accommodation. The attackers demanded his identification details and access codes and forced him to transfer 40,000 euros in cryptocurrency.

A source close to the investigation said that his 12-year-old daughter was struck in the face with a car key. After more than three hours in the house, the men drove off. The family worked themselves free, and firefighters treated all four for shock.

Investigators have not said publicly how the attackers identified the father as a crypto holder. Prosecutors opened the case on charges of confining several people and extortion by an organized gang, handing it to the interdepartmental judicial police of the Pas-de-Calais and the Nord alongside France’s anti-cybercrime office.

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A Familiar Pattern in France

The raid follows a run of similar attacks that have made France the center of violent crypto crime. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in June that the country had recorded 77 kidnappings, confinements, extortions, and attempts tied to the sector since January.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis counted 30 publicly known French incidents through mid-2026, against 19 in all of 2025. The pace climbed from roughly 1.9 attacks a month last year to about 4.6 in the first half of this one.

The firm attributes much of that jump to a 2024 breach. A Paris-area tax official allegedly stole and sold dossiers on wealthy crypto holders, including addresses, holdings, and phone numbers. 

Two other findings fit this case. Home invasions grew to 37% of global incidents by mid-2026 from 26% in 2023, and in France, more than 40% of attacks now target a relative rather than the holder.

Attackers have targeted executives as directly as normal employees. Masked men stormed the building of Binance France president David Prinçay in February, fleeing when they found he was not home.

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Source: BeInCrypto