David Balland, the co-founder of Ledger, a outstanding French cryptocurrency {hardware} pockets producer, and his spouse have been safely launched following their kidnapping earlier this week.
Paris prosecutor’s workplace additional revealed that the couple was kidnapped from their residence through the early hours of Tuesday, January 21, and transported to an undisclosed location.
Bloomberg report said that the abductors demanded a considerable ransom in cryptocurrency. Legislation enforcement efficiently positioned and freed Balland throughout an operation late Wednesday evening. Whereas particulars concerning the rescue stay restricted, emergency companies are offering medical care to the sufferer.
The incident, which shocked the tech neighborhood, comes amid rumors of one other alleged kidnapping involving Eric Larchevêque, who occurs to be Ledger’s different co-founder. Nevertheless, Grégory Raymond, co-founder of crypto information outlet The Large Whale, dismissed these claims, confirming Larchevêque was not concerned.
Based in 2014, Ledger is famend for its {hardware} wallets that safe digital belongings offline, defending customers from cyber threats. The corporate, valued at €1.3 billion (roughly$1.42 billion), raised €100 million ($109 million) in 2023 and employs round 700 folks.
In line with the “Identified Bodily Bitcoin Assaults” archive, maintained by Casa’s co-founder Jameson Lopp, there have been a minimum of six assaults cataloged in 2025 alone simply earlier than Balland’s incident.
As reported earlier, Dean Skurka, CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency agency WonderFi, was kidnapped in Toronto throughout rush hour in November. The exec was launched unhurt after paying a $720,000 ransom. In an announcement, Skurka assured customers that WonderFi’s funds and information have been unaffected. The incident coincided with WonderFi’s earnings report, which highlighted a 153% income enhance year-over-year.
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