Bitcoin Robbery: French Couple Held Hostage as Fake Officers Steal €900K in BTC

Three individuals stole nearly $1 million in Bitcoin from a couple at knife point in their own home.

Key Takeaways

A couple in Le Chesnay, France, was held at knifepoint by three men pretending to be police.
The robbers demanded a transfer of €900,000 in Bitcoin.
The incident is part of a disturbing trend of crypto-related robberies in France.
Investigations are ongoing, but no arrests have been made thus far.
Individuals holding cryptocurrency need to be aware of new threats beyond online security.

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A couple in France was targeted in a violent robbery, where they were held hostage by individuals pretending to be police officers. This incident highlights the increasing threat of real-world crimes linked to cryptocurrency.

The Modus Operandi of the Bitcoin Robbery

According to French news outlet TF1 Info, early on Monday, a couple in their late fifties was taken hostage in their home in Le Chesnay, Yvelines (France) by three men posing as police officers. The woman opened the door after the alleged officers identified themselves, but they quickly pushed their way inside and kidnapped her and her husband. The woman suffered minor injuries, and both were forced onto their sofa, where the husband was tied up by the robbers.

One of the assailants brandished a knife and threatened the woman, demanding her husband transfer the equivalent of €900,000 in Bitcoin. The robbery was completed around 9 a.m., and the suspects then fled in a white van. Once they were gone, the injured woman managed to free her husband and call for help from their neighbors.

So far, no arrests have occurred. The Versailles prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into kidnapping and armed robbery by an organized gang, alongside charges of criminal conspiracy, according to TF1. The Brigade de répression du banditisme (BRB) is conducting the ongoing investigations.

A Shift from Online Exploits to Violent Real-World Attacks

This incident is not an anomaly; it marks yet another entry in a disturbing trend of violent crimes associated with Bitcoin. On March 4, a seasoned trader known as “Mr. Silly” experienced a multimillion-dollar theft involving address poisoning and an offline robbery that cost him approximately $24 million. Similarly, on November 24, 2025, an armed robber broke into a San Francisco home, masquerading as a delivery worker. The tactics used were strikingly similar to those in the Le Chesnay robbery: the homeowner was restrained, and valuables, including $11 million worth of cryptocurrency, were taken.

In France, incidents of kidnappings targeted at cryptocurrency holders have surged since the start of 2025, according to TF1. In January of last year, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, was abducted but later rescued by police. More recently, on February 12, the head of Binance France was also targeted by three hooded individuals during a botched home invasion at his Val-de-Marne apartment, as reported by French outlet RTL News.

For those holding Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the takeaway is stark: the focus of risks has shifted from just digital security measures like seed phrases to physical threats at home.

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