In the south-western part of France, a couple was broken into and taken away from their home in recent days, and the attackers allegedly tried to force them to hand over a large amount of bitcoin and other encrypted assets. The case has been taken over by specialized cross-regional judicial bodies in Bordeaux, France, and the police have now arrested two men.
They'll be separated when they get inside in the morning.
According to the local media, Actu Landes, the incident occurred on the night of 10 to 11 August in the town of Ryon de Lund, Rand. Several intruders entered the couple ' s house at about 4 a.m. and threatened both with the aim of gaining control of their encrypted assets.
Reports indicate that the attackers subsequently removed the two victims from their homes and moved to different locations. The male victim was later found in Solferino, about 20 kilometres from the crime site, with multiple wounds on his body and was found without clothes. The female victim was found in a car in another province.
At present, public information has not yet been provided on the success of the attackers in transferring encrypted assets, nor has it revealed the size of the assets held by the victims, their identity background, or how the attackers targeted them.
Two suspects arrested and specialized judicial authorities involved
Following the incident, the French gendarmerie carried out a large-scale operation in the surrounding area and set up a card-checking vehicle on the road linking Riondrand and Les Perón. The investigators returned to the victim ' s house the following day for forensics and fingerprinting.
Two men were reportedly arrested shortly after the incident, but their identity, age and specific division of labour have not yet been officially disclosed, nor have any information been provided on the seizure of weapons, vehicles or electronic equipment.
The French State Office for the Prosecution of Organized Crime (PNACO) confirmed to the media that cases had been referred to specialized judicial bodies in the Bordeaux region. Such institutions are usually responsible for complex cases, such as trans-regional, organized crime, etc. At the time of the publication of the report, the Prosecution had not made public the content of the formal charges.
France continues to increase the number of cases of encrypted violence this year.
This case was preceded by a series of kidnappings, house robberies and extortions against the holders of encrypted assets and their relatives in France. The French media had previously cited the Minister of the Interior Laurent Nuñez as saying that in 2026 France had recorded 77 cases of kidnapping, illegal detention, extortion or attempted kidnapping in connection with the encryption industry, up from 45 in 2025.
Nuñez also indicated that approximately 200 persons had been arrested in the relevant cases after the attack or in preventive action. The French Ministry of the Interior has promoted collaboration with Adan, the digital assets industry organization, and has strengthened intelligence-sharing and rapid identification mechanisms to respond more quickly when high-risk persons report to the police.
Another statistics from the chain analysis company Chainalysis show that in the first half of 2026 there were 30 publicly visible incidents of encryption-related violence in France, up from 19 throughout 2025. The company is of a narrow calibre and therefore differs from the data of the French Ministry of the Interior.
Globally, Chainalysis claims that more than $30 million has been stolen successfully through physical violence in the first half of 2026. The report also mentions that the proportion of recorded cases continues to rise and that relatives and associates of victims are increasingly targeted.