A chilling crypto-related abduction has rocked France after a 23-year-old man was reportedly kidnapped and violently coerced for access to his Ledger hardware wallet. The incident took place in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb of Paris, where the victim was held captive for several hours.

According to French media outlet Le Parisien, the attackers demanded €5,000 in cash and access to the victim's Ledger wallet, threatening his partner in the process. The man was eventually released in Créteil, but the suspects remain at large, and no arrests had been confirmed as of Thursday.

This brutal episode is just one in a growing wave of physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders, where criminals bypass digital security by targeting users themselves. Dubbed “wrench attacks,” these incidents bypass encryption and passwords by using threats or violence to force victims into handing over private keys or seed phrases.

France isn’t alone in facing this disturbing trend. In May, the daughter and grandson of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat were nearly abducted. In New York, two suspects were indicted for kidnapping a tourist to access his crypto wallet. Similar attacks have been reported in India, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Spain.

Cybersecurity expert Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Casa, has documented over 230 such attacks globally in the past decade. Even crypto pioneer Hal Finney wasn’t spared—he was "swatted" in 2014 as part of a crypto extortion attempt.

As the value of digital assets grows, so do the risks for everyday holders. The rise in violent crypto crimes signals an urgent need for enhanced physical security awareness among investors, especially those using self-custody wallets like Ledger.