A family of four was held hostage overnight in Vendin-le-Vieil, a commune of around 5,000 inhabitants near Béthune in northern France, after four intruders broke into their home and beat the father until he transferred approximately €40,000 in cryptocurrency, according to reporting by BFMTV.
The attack took place at around 4am during the night of Saturday into Sunday. The father, 40, works in the cryptocurrency sector. His 41-year-old companion and their two children, aged 8 and 12, were also tied up during the ordeal. The couple's daughter was injured in the head. As of Saturday morning, none of the four suspects had been arrested.
Investigators from the cellule d'investigation criminelle, along with technicians from the identification criminelle, carried out a search of the property and conducted door-to-door canvassing in the neighbourhood in an effort to trace the attackers.
Part of a wider surge
The incident fits a pattern investigators and researchers have been tracking for months. So-called "wrench attacks" — physical assaults or kidnappings aimed at forcing crypto holders to hand over funds — have escalated sharply in France and elsewhere. According to a Chainalysis report relayed by The Block, more than $30 million was stolen globally through such violent attacks between January and June 2026, on pace to surpass the $58 million recorded for the whole of 2025.
France has emerged as the epicentre of this trend, described in the report as the most affected country in the world. Thirty cases were recorded in France by mid-2026, compared with 19 for all of 2025. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said more than 70 signalements had been logged by the end of June.
The nature of the attacks has also shifted. Home burglaries accounted for 37% of recorded incidents in 2026, up from 14% in 2025. At the same time, the success rate of attempted attacks has fallen sharply — to 26% in the first half of 2026, down from 49% in 2025 and 67% in 2024 — suggesting victims and authorities are adapting even as the number of attempts rises.
Open questions
How attackers identify their targets remains a matter for investigators. Reporting has pointed to a two-year-old tax data leak, aggravated by the January hacking of the Waltio platform, as a possible source of information used to locate crypto holders, though this link has not been confirmed in the Vendin-le-Vieil case.
The investigation into Saturday's attack continues, with the four suspects still unidentified and at large.
