Violent Robbery in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt
In an alarming incident that unfolded in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, a suburb in the Yvelines department of France, a couple in their 50s fell victim to a violent robbery that forced them to hand over over 900,000 euros (approximately $1 million) in Bitcoin. The ordeal occurred on Monday morning when three men, masquerading as police officers, invaded their home, leading to an investigation by authorities for suspected kidnapping and organized armed robbery.
Details of the Home Invasion
As reported by TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse (AFP), the home invasion began when the woman answered the door, only to be shoved aside by the intruders. One of the suspects reportedly wielded a knife and demanded that the man execute a transfer of a significant amount of cryptocurrency to a designated account. In a state of duress, the man complied with their demands, facilitating the transfer of Bitcoin before the perpetrators tied him up and left the woman with a minor shoulder injury.
The assailants then escaped the scene in a white van, while the woman managed to free her husband and seek help from neighbors nearby. Authorities are investigating this shocking case, which is part of a broader trend of increasing wrench attacks—crimes involving physical threats to coerce victims into surrendering their digital assets.
Rising Concerns Over Cryptocurrency Thefts
Recent findings from Chainalysis’ 2025 Crypto Crime Mid-Year Update highlight a rising concern over cryptocurrency thefts, noting that while 2022 set records for such crimes, the instances of theft in 2025 have been alarmingly high yet occur in a fraction of the time. The increasing value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin appears to correlate with the spike in wrench attacks.
Impact on the Cryptocurrency Community
The situation paints a grim picture for the French cryptocurrency community, which has seen a series of similar incidents. For instance, in December 2025, a father of a Dubai-based crypto entrepreneur was kidnapped in broad daylight, and earlier, Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife were targeted and held for ransom. These incidents suggest a troubling increase in violence aimed at individuals within the cryptocurrency sector, raising concerns about safety in a sphere that has gained substantial financial clout in recent years.
Originally reported by The Shib Daily
