Attempted Kidnapping of Crypto CEO’s Daughter Shocks Paris in Broad Daylight

A violent attempted kidnapping targeting the daughter of a cryptocurrency company CEO unfolded in Paris’s 11th district on Tuesday morning, leaving residents and bystanders in disbelief. The brazen attack, captured on video by onlookers, involved three masked men who tried to abduct a 34-year-old woman in the presence of her partner and their two-year-old child. The incident, reported by Le Parisien, highlights a disturbing trend of Bitcoin and crypto related abductions, with authorities now investigating the motives and perpetrators behind this shocking crime.

The attack occurred around 8:20 a.m. on Pache Street, a typically vibrant area known for its hipster culture. According to Le Parisien, three men dressed in black and wearing black hoodies emerged from a marked van. The assailants targeted the woman, believed to be the daughter of a crypto executive, attempting to force her into the vehicle. Her partner fought back, sustaining blows to the head that left him bloodied on the ground, as seen in a one-minute video. The woman’s screams of “Let me go!” echoed through the street, drawing the attention of nearby residents.

Jean-Jacques, a 61-year-old former paramedic, witnessed the chaos and rushed to assist. Using his medical training, Jean-Jacques treated the father’s head wound and cleaned the child’s face with saline solution. The attackers fled in their van, abandoning it a few streets away along with a firearm, which remains under investigation.

Bystanders played a critical role in disrupting the kidnapping. One resident wielded a fire extinguisher to fend off the assailants, while another retrieved the dropped weapon. The collective response of the community, with some filming from windows and others shouting for police, likely pressured the attackers to abandon their plan. The intensity of the moment left the neighborhood shaken, with one worker noting the instinct to lock doors as the violence unfolded in broad daylight.

Crypto Wealth Under Siege

The Paris prosecutor’s office has tasked the Banditry Suppression Brigade (BRB) with investigating this case, which bears striking similarities to other recent crypto related abductions in France. Just days earlier, on May 1, the BRB handled the kidnapping of a crypto entrepreneur’s father, who was abducted by four masked men using a stolen UPS-branded van. That victim was held in a house in Palaiseau, where his captors severed one of his fingers and demanded a ransom of €5 million to €7 million. The BRB successfully rescued him on May 3, apprehending five suspects. These incidents point to a troubling pattern of organized crime targeting individuals linked to cryptocurrency wealth.

The market’s recent milestones, with Bitcoin surpassing $100,000 amid global trade deal optimism, have amplified the visibility of crypto entrepreneurs. France has seen a surge in such violent crimes, with at least four reported kidnappings of crypto figures or their families in the past six months across France, Spain, and Belgium. In January, David Balland, co-founder of the crypto wallet firm Ledger, and his wife were abducted from their home, with Balland losing a finger before their rescue. The allure of quick ransoms in untraceable digital currencies appears to be driving these attacks, putting crypto executives and their loved ones at heightened risk.

Authorities have yet to disclose the identity of the cryptocurrency company tied to this latest incident, and the investigation is ongoing to determine whether the attackers specifically targeted the family due to their crypto connections. The use of a marked delivery van, a tactic seen in prior cases, suggests a level of sophistication and planning. As the BRB delves into the case, questions remain about how to protect those in the crypto space from becoming targets in an increasingly lucrative but dangerous industry.