France Accounts for About 70% of Reported Crypto Wrench Attacks, Joe Nakamoto Says
According to Cointelegraph, Joe Nakamoto said France has recorded 41 crypto-related kidnappings as of 2026, highlighting a concentration of physical attacks on digital asset holders and their families.
Joe Nakamoto said roughly 70% of physical "wrench attacks" against cryptocurrency holders and their families take place in France, according to Cointelegraph. He also said France has recorded 41 crypto-related kidnappings as of 2026, which he described as an average of one incident every two and a half days. The figures point to a sharp concentration of offline threats in a market often associated with online risk, where criminals may use physical coercion to obtain wallet access, seed phrases (backup recovery words), or private keys (secret codes controlling crypto funds).
- Wrench attack: A physical coercion attack in which criminals threaten or harm a holder to force access to cryptocurrency wallets or accounts.
- Seed phrase: A set of backup recovery words that can restore control over a crypto wallet if the original device is lost or compromised.
- Private key: A secret cryptographic code that gives the holder control over cryptocurrency stored in a wallet.