Since the beginning of 2026, victims of physical attacks aimed at stealing cryptocurrency have lost more than $30 million, according to a report by the analytics company Chainalysis. And if this trend continues, experts believe the current year could become the worst in history in terms of the number of such incidents. For comparison, the figure for the entire year of 2025 was a record $58 million.
The $30 million sum includes only completed thefts, where the victim was forced to transfer funds. However, if extortion attempts, where funds were somehow blocked, are also taken into account, the total amount of damage reached $107 million. Chainalysis also provided statistics for previous years: $316 million in 2024 and $180 million in 2025.
Analysts also emphasize that even these figures might be understated because only registered incidents are included in the statistics.
Cause of the Surge in Attacks
The situation in France has drawn particular attention from experts. According to Chainalysis, until 2025, only isolated cases of physical violence related to cryptocurrency were recorded in the country. However, last year their number increased to 19, and in the first half of 2026, analysts have already noted 30 publicly known cases.
As a possible reason for such a surge, they pointed to a large-scale leak of personal data of crypto investors. They referenced an incident in 2024 when a French tax official from the Paris region was accused of stealing and selling dossiers on wealthy cryptocurrency holders. These documents contained names, addresses, asset amounts, phone numbers, and tax records.
The seriousness of the situation is also confirmed by the French authorities. The country's Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, stated that the authorities have documented nearly 80 such crimes, noting that "concern about this issue is entirely justified." And the geography of the attacks has expanded far beyond Paris — attacks have been recorded in Strasbourg, Marseille, Grenoble, Toulouse, Nantes, and even in small communes where this had not been observed before.
Nature of the Attacks
The Chainalysis report also notes a change in the methods of the perpetrators. While in 2021, cases of attacks on family members or acquaintances of the cryptocurrency owner were almost non-existent, by the beginning of 2026 their share had grown to 30% worldwide. And in France, this figure is even higher — relatives or close ones are attacked in more than 40% of cases.
The structure of the crimes themselves has also changed: the share of home invasions increased from 14% in 2025 to 37% in 2026, while kidnappings account for 52%. However, analysts make a caveat: depending on the classification, some kidnappings in France could be classified as home invasions, which would make this category the most common.
The overwhelming majority of victims — namely 93% in France, 82% in Brazil, and 77% in the USA — are local residents, not tourists. This, according to Chainalysis, indicates prior reconnaissance and planning, rather than the random nature of the crimes.
Another trend is noted: with the increase in the number of attacks, perpetrators less often obtain funds from victims. By the end of June 2026, only 26% of theft attempts resulted in payment, compared to 49% in 2025 and 67% in 2024. Chainalysis explained this by saying that a massive wave of cruder attacks in France has displaced the targeted, planned attacks of previous years.
Movement of Stolen Funds
In addition to statistics on the attacks themselves, experts shared observations on the movement of stolen funds. Chainalysis emphasized that money laundering methods vary from primitive to highly organized: from direct sending to centralized exchanges to complex routes through decentralized exchanges and cross-chain tools.
Earlier Chainalysis reports indicated that Bitcoin owners suffered the greatest damage in terms of the amount, although they are less frequently victims of targeted theft than owners of other crypto assets.
