- Ethereum conference beefed up security for June gathering.
- Organised crime groups are escalating attacks in France.
- Crypto investors are increasingly nervy about security.
When 8,000 crypto enthusiasts descend on the French Riviera for the EthCC conference in June, they will have much to look forward to.
Amid discussions by the likes of Vitalik Buterin and Stani Kulechov, they will bask in the Mediterranean sun, dine in the many Michelin-starred restaurants in Cannes, and network with colleagues at splashy receptions.
But there’s a problem — the mounting threat of abductions and robberies.
Over the last several months, crime groups have abducted crypto founders and demanded ransoms. In two cases, the kidnappers cut off a finger of their victim.
“I’m kind of concerned, but what can I do?” Ivan, the pseudonymous co-founder of DeFi project Gearbox Protocol, told DL News. “At least I’m not rich.”
Not taking chances
Jerome de Tychey, the co-founder of EthCC and CEO of the Ethereum development firm Cometh, said fears of such crimes may be overblown.
But he’s not taking any chances.
Over the past eight months, he and his team have worked closely with local authorities in Cannes to ensure the event, which runs from June 30 to July 3, is safe.
The authorities have agreed to deploy additional police officers from the region to secure the crypto event, and with more than 500 CCTV cameras, Cannes is one of the most surveilled cities in southern France, said Tychey.
The level of security for the event will be comparable to that of Cannes’ famed international film festival, which is taking place this month.
“If you consider it’s hard to reach Tom Cruise during the film festival, it’s going to be just as hard to reach Vitalik during EthCC,” de Tychey told DL News.
Six attacks
Since January, there have been at least six different violent attacks in France on crypto entrepreneurs or their close relatives, according to a list compiled by security expert Jameson Lopp.
In January, David Balland, the co-founder of crypto hardware developer Ledger, and his wife were abducted in the village of Vierzon.
Roughly 36 hours later, they were both returned thanks to a national police operation. During that time, though, the kidnappers cut off one of Balland’s fingers after they had not received the full ransom.
‘It’s a perfect storm, and criminals famously go where the money is.’
— Ari Redbord
In May, the father of a crypto millionaire was kidnapped in Paris. The attackers removed one of his fingers as well and demanded a $5 million ransom before being rescued by the police.
The attacks have spurred France’s interior minister to establish dedicated protocols to prevent similar events.
Bruno Retailleu announced on May 16 the “full mobilisation of public authorities” to protect members of the French crypto community, including a priority hotline to reach the police and security checks at home.
Perfect storm
Still, questions remain. Why now, and why France?
Ari Redbord, the global head of policy at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, said that soaring valuations for digital assets are an obvious reason why crypto investors are being targeted.
Plus, recent changes to Europe’s crypto regulatory landscape have made France an attractive destination for crypto companies to set up shop.
“It’s a perfect storm,” Redbord told DL News. “And criminals famously go where the money is.”
At the same time, France has been hammered by organised crime groups as South American cocaine pours into Europe.
Retailleu established a special task force in March to target these criminal networks. And in April, the French National Assembly approved an anti-narcotics law to give the state more tools to fight the gangs.
Crypto, with all its riches, is too tempting a target to resist for criminal rackets.
“Kidnapping itself is organised crime,” said Tychey. “It’s not something that you wake up in a bad mood and want to do a bad thing and decide to kidnap someone.”
Security component
Redbord, who was the senior advisor to the deputy secretary and the undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the US Treasury, agreed.
“The fact that people are showing up in vans and trying to bring in very specific family members is a relatively sophisticated activity,” he told DL News.
He also spelt out some rather straightforward remedies to prevent becoming a target, like keeping a lower profile on social media and informing family members of the same.
Redbord also suggests that certain individuals consider physical security.
“I’m not really a gun guy,” he said. “But if you’re holding that much, it probably makes sense to have a security guard or a security component in your life, whatever that ultimately looks like.”
Tychey said he couldn’t divulge the precise protocols in place for EthCC.
However, given the presence of French ministers, regulators, and a couple of high-profile billionaires, security in Cannes is as tight as possible.
“Everything has been put in place so that wealthy people can walk the street without any specific fear of something happening,” he told DL News.
Liam Kelly is DL News’ Berlin-based DeFi correspondent. Have a tip? Get in touch at liam@dlnews.com.
