Physical attacks on crypto holders surged 12x to $124M in six months, with France emerging as a hotspot.
Macro & Markets ·
Blockchain security firm CertiK documented 52 verified physical attacks on cryptocurrency holders in the first half of 2026, a 33% increase from 39 cases a year prior. The associated financial exposure surged to $124.1 million, nearly 12 times the $10.5 million recorded in the same period of 2025, pushing the average loss per incident from $270,000 to $2.39 million. France emerged as the dominant geography, representing 33 of the 52 global incidents, while Europe accounted for 75% of all cases.
The shift toward home invasions marks a significant escalation in attack methods. Break-ins climbed from a single publicly reported case in H1 2025 to 20 incidents by H1 2026, representing roughly 41% of all verified attacks. Kidnappings rose from 12 to 16 cases, and one murder was recorded in each period. CertiK linked France's concentration of incidents to its visible cryptocurrency community and prior data breaches—including France Travail and ANTS compromises—that supply attackers with pre-assembled target lists. The report characterizes the operations as increasingly organized, with specialized roles for data acquisition, coordination, and recruitment of operatives.
CertiK cautioned that its figures reflect ransom demands and frozen assets rather than confirmed theft alone, and that severe under-reporting persists due to victim concerns about retaliation and reputational harm. The firm notes that traditional protective measures such as hardware wallets and hidden seed phrases offer limited defense against coercion, recommending instead multi-signature controls, withdrawal delays, and family safety protocols.