A Woman and Her Young Child, Relatives of a Prominent French Cryptocurrency Executive, Managed to Escape

A woman and her young child were targeted by kidnappers in Paris on Tuesday morning, but the attempt was foiled by passersby. The victims are relatives of a prominent French cryptocurrency executive.

The incident unfolded around 8:20 a.m. local time in the 11th district of Paris, as three men jumped from a white van and tried to push the mother and child into the vehicle.

Police sources confirmed the targets were family members of Paymium’s CEO, one of France’s oldest Bitcoin exchanges.

The woman’s husband was punched several times as he tried to defend his family. In a moment of quick thinking, the woman grabbed a weapon from one of the attackers and threw it away. It was later identified as a replica air gun.

The street was busy at the time, with school children passing nearby. Though bystanders initially hesitated to help, locals eventually intervened, causing the kidnappers to abandon their attempt.

The attackers then fled in their van, which was being driven by a fourth accomplice. One bystander threw a fire extinguisher at the van as it sped away.

This foiled kidnapping follows a disturbing trend emerging worldwide. According to a tracker maintained by Casa CTO Jameson Lopp, 2025 has already seen 22 physical attacks related to cryptocurrency wealth.

This puts 2025 on pace to far exceed the 32 cases that were documented throughout 2024. The 2023 total of 24 incidents has nearly been matched in just over four months.

France has become a particular hotspot for such crimes. The country has witnessed at least six crypto kidnappings or attempts this year alone.

In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were abducted from their home in central France. Reports indicate kidnappers severed one of Balland’s fingers during the ordeal while demanding cryptocurrency ransom. Nine suspects have since been arrested.

Earlier this month, French police rescued the father of a crypto millionaire who had been kidnapped while walking his dog in Paris. The victim also had a finger amputated by his captors before being freed in a police raid. Seven arrests followed.

On New Year’s Eve, criminals targeted the father of a crypto influencer in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, holding him hostage in yet another ransom scheme.

The violence extends well beyond French borders. In March, Chinese-Filipino businessman Anson Que was killed after kidnappers demanded $20 million in cryptocurrency. Authorities had already paid $3.5 million before his death.

Hong Kong has reported multiple ambushes during crypto transactions, including a recent case involving a Turkish victim. In Brazil, a Spanish businessman spent five days in captivity after criminals posing as police officers abducted him and demanded $50 million in crypto. He eventually escaped.