NFT Paris Canceled: Organizers Cite ‘Market Collapse’ Amid Violent Kidnapping Spree

NFT Paris and RWA Paris 2026 have been canceled. In a statement released Jan. 6, organizers cited a liquidity crisis and a 95% volume drawdown as the primary drivers, claiming the event was no longer financially viable. But the official narrative obscures a darker reality: France has become a hunting ground for crypto wealth.

The ‘Wrench Attack’ Epidemic

While organizers point to the collapse of the NFT sector, market cap has withered to roughly $2.7 billion. The physical security risks in Paris have escalated to crisis levels. Since January 2025, France has recorded over 20 targeted kidnappings and violent home invasions against crypto professionals.

The situation deteriorated sharply in the first week of 2026, with police reporting four attempted kidnappings in just four days. These are not random muggings; they are precision strikes fueled by a massive state-level data breach.

The Tax Leak Vector

The precision of these attacks is linked to a catastrophic data leak within the French government. In June 2025, a tax official identified as Ghalia C. was imprisoned for selling taxpayer data to organized crime rings. Using the "Mira" tax software, she allegedly provided home addresses and financial profiles of high-net-worth crypto holders to criminal "sponsors."

This breach effectively turned tax compliance into a hit list. The consequences have been brutal:

• Ledger Co-Founder Attack: In Jan. 2025, David Balland was abducted and mutilated (a finger was severed) by captors demanding access to his hardware wallet.
• Paymium Target: In May 2025, the family of Pierre Noizat, CEO of exchange Paymium, faced an attempted kidnapping in broad daylight.

Market Context vs. Security Reality

The cancellation comes as the broader crypto market diverges. While Bitcoin hovers near $91,000 (Jan. 12), the NFT sector is in freefall, with active buyers down 82% week-over-week. This bifurcation gave organizers a plausible financial exit ramp, but the security liability of gathering 20,000 high-value targets in a single venue likely forced the decision.

For French crypto holders, the advice from security firms is no longer just "use a hardware wallet." It is "disappear." As physical violence replaces protocol exploits as the primary extraction vector, the era of public crypto visibility in Paris appears to be closing.