David Balland, the co-founder of Ledger, a prominent French cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer, and his wife have been safely released following their kidnapping earlier this week.
Paris prosecutor’s office further revealed that the couple was abducted from their residence during the early hours of Tuesday, January 21, and transported to an undisclosed location.
Bloomberg report stated that the kidnappers demanded a substantial ransom in cryptocurrency. Law enforcement successfully located and freed Balland during an operation late Wednesday night. While details about the rescue remain limited, emergency services are providing medical care to the victim.
The incident, which shocked the tech community, comes amid rumors of another alleged kidnapping involving Eric Larchevêque, who happens to be Ledger’s other co-founder. However, Grégory Raymond, co-founder of crypto news outlet The Big Whale, dismissed these claims, confirming Larchevêque was not involved.
Founded in 2014, Ledger is renowned for its hardware wallets that secure digital assets offline, protecting users from cyber threats. The company, valued at €1.3 billion (approximately$1.42 billion), raised €100 million ($109 million) in 2023 and employs around 700 people.
According to the “Known Physical Bitcoin Attacks” archive, maintained by Casa’s co-founder Jameson Lopp, there have been at least six attacks cataloged in 2025 alone just before Balland’s incident.
As reported earlier, Dean Skurka, CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency firm WonderFi, was kidnapped in Toronto during rush hour in November. The exec was released unharmed after paying a $720,000 ransom. In a statement, Skurka assured users that WonderFi’s funds and data were unaffected. The incident coincided with WonderFi’s earnings report, which highlighted a 153% revenue increase year-over-year.
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