🔥JUST IN: Telegram founder Pavel Durov is accusing French tax officials of selling crypto holders' data to criminals.
He's blaming them for 41 kidnappings of crypto holders in just the first 3.5 months of 2026.
This makes France blew past last year's total (30) in under 4 months.
Per CertiK, so-called “wrench attacks”, where attackers use physical force instead of hacking, surged 75% globally in 2025, reaching 72 verified cases and over $40.9M in losses.
Kidnapping was the dominant attack vector, with 25 incidents globally.
Europe is now the epicenter with 40.3% of all global cases in 2025
France alone accounted for 19 of those 72 in 2025, more than 2x the United States.
In 2026 so far, ~two-thirds of all global wrench attacks have occurred in France, per Jameson Lopp's tracker.
Targets have also shifted from founders and whales to mid-level holders, spouses, even children.
Crypto security just became a personal security problem.