Chainalysis CEO reveals a clue about the recent encryption attack in Paris.

Source: Cointelegraph Original: "Chainalysis CEO Reveals a Clue About the Recent Paris Crypto Attack Incident"

Some criminal organizations seem to have not received the message - cryptocurrencies are traceable - which may explain a recent series of cryptocurrency-related kidnapping incidents, said Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin.

According to Cointelegraph, Levin stated at the 2025 Consensus crypto conference that law enforcement is becoming increasingly successful in tracking stolen funds and cryptocurrency ransom payments, leading to a "significant number of arrests."

"I don't know why, but there is a perception in the outside world that cryptocurrencies are untraceable assets, which indeed allows criminals to act in a certain way," he said.

"Clearly, some organized crime groups carrying out these attacks have not realized that cryptocurrencies are not untraceable, with some of these groups concentrated in France, but not limited to it."

Since the beginning of this month, two serious cryptocurrency-related attack incidents have occurred in Paris. On May 13, three attackers attempted to kidnap the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, co-founder and CEO of the French cryptocurrency exchange Paymium.

Earlier this month, on May 3rd, Paris police rescued the father of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur who had been held captive for several days as part of a kidnapping scheme worth 7 million euros (approximately 7.8 million USD). These attacks prompted the French Minister of the Interior to meet with cryptocurrency professionals to address the growing security concerns.

In October last year, blockchain investigator ZachXBT issued a warning that the frequency of reports he received about cryptocurrency burglary victims in Western Europe was significantly higher than in other regions.

"The message that needs to be conveyed is that these payments are traceable, and these units within law enforcement have been very successful in holding some individuals accountable when dealing with kidnapping cases," Levin said.

"Even if they are not the ones directly kidnapping, they can be traced back to the organized crime groups that orchestrate these crimes," he added.

Online streamer Amouranth became a victim of a home invasion in March 2025, where several armed assailants threatened her with guns, demanding access to her cryptocurrency wallet keys. Four suspects have been charged and arrested by law enforcement in connection with this incident.

Levin stated that he hopes organized crime groups will take inspiration from the capture of crypto robbers, especially since this "is not a profitable business", and in some cases, ransom payments may even be recovered.

"It is also possible to recover some of the payments. I believe the overall goal is not necessarily to recover the funds, but to hold these individuals accountable," he said.

However, despite some successes by law enforcement in tracking down criminals targeting the crypto industry, Levin stated that the surge in offline robbery incidents remains a "frustrating" situation, and the industry should also take additional measures to curb theft.

"People need to be very careful about the personal information they share online," he said.

This year, according to a GitHub list created by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of the self-custody company Casa and a cypherpunk, there have been 22 reported face-to-face thefts related to cryptocurrency, while 28 are expected in 2024.

However, the actual numbers may be higher. A study released by the University of Cambridge last September found that these so-called "wrench attacks" are often underreported due to concerns about becoming a victim again.

Related: French Minister to meet with crypto company after attempted kidnapping