The French subsidiary of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance confirmed Thursday that one of its employees was the victim of a burglary at his home. The police arrested three suspects. This case is part of a wave of unprecedented attacks targeting the crypto sector in France.
In brief
- Three hooded and armed individuals attempted to burglarize the home of a Binance France executive Thursday morning in Val-de-Marne.
- The suspects first broke into a neighbor's house before reaching their target and stealing two cell phones.
- The three men were arrested two hours later during a second attempted burglary in Hauts-de-Seine.
- Binance confirmed the incident while preserving the anonymity of its employee, who is safe and sound with his family.
A morning intrusion that ends short
Thursday around 7 a.m., three hooded and armed individuals broke into a building in Val-de-Marne. Their objective was clear: to attack a manager of the French subsidiary of Binance.
However, the criminals got the wrong apartment. After forcing the door of a resident, they forced him to take them to the correct accommodation. Once there, the burglars searched the apartment and stole two cell phones before fleeing.
The matter could have ended there. However, two hours later, the three suspects attempted a second burglary in Hauts-de-Seine. This time, alert residents notified the authorities.
The Banditry Repression Brigade intervened quickly and made the arrests. Investigators recovered the stolen phones and a vehicle which helped establish the link between the two cases.
A Binance spokesperson confirmed the incident to several media outlets while refusing to reveal the identity of the targeted employee.
“ We have been informed of a burglary at the home of one of our employees. An investigation is underway with the local police ”, indicated the company.
Yi He, co-founder and director of customer service at Binance, wanted to reassure: the employee and his family are “safe and sound” and are collaborating with law enforcement. She praised the responsiveness of the BRB.
France, European epicenter of crypto attacks
This burglary is not an isolated case. It is part of an alarming trend that has hit France since 2025. According to the cybersecurity platform CertiK, physical attacks against crypto investors have jumped by 75% this year.
These “wrench attacks,” as experts call them, have caused at least $40.9 million in confirmed losses worldwide.
France holds a sad record: 19 incidents confirmed in 2025, making it the most affected country in the world. Europe accounts for around 40% of all these attacks.
A few days before the attack on the Binance employee, French authorities had arrested six people suspected of having kidnapped a magistrate and her mother in a ransom case linked to cryptocurrencies.
Experts point to massive data leaks among certain providers in the crypto sector. These breaches allow criminals to obtain names, addresses and telephone numbers of their targets.
The arrest of the three suspects is good news and demonstrates police efficiency, but how many are still at large? With 11 attacks since January 2026, France has become the global epicenter of crypto kidnappings. The government must strike hard with exemplary sentences to break this criminal cycle.
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