France just became #1 in something nobody wants.

France just became #1 in something nobody wants. Crypto kidnappings!

Let that sink in. Latest case: a family targeted, father beaten, tied up. Mother and 11-year-old son kidnapped. Ransom: $400,000 in crypto. Not random. Not luck. They knew how much he held.

And that’s the real story. Because this is not an isolated case anymore:

• 1 attack in 2024
• 20 in 2025
• 19 already in early 2026
• One every ~5 days
• ~70% of global physical crypto attacks

France is now the global hotspot. So we have to ask the uncomfortable question: How do criminals know who to target?

Somewhere, somehow:

• KYC databases
• exchange data
• leaked personal information
• or over-collection of sensitive data becomes intelligence for criminals.

And at the same time? New proposals:

• declare self-custodied wallets above €5,000
• report holdings annually

Let’s be clear. The intention is understandable: taxation, compliance and oversight.

But the outcome? More centralized databases, more sensitive data and more potential leaks. And in the physical world… data = targeting!

This is the paradox: the systems built to “protect” can quietly make people more exposed.

Crypto was supposed to remove trust in intermediaries. But if interacting with it requires putting your identity, your holdings, and your activity into multiple databases…what exactly are we improving?

Security can be translated into minimizing attack surfaces. Because the real risk is no longer just online. It’s at your door.