French investigators are searching for four suspects after a night-time home invasion in Vendin-le-Vieil, in Pas-de-Calais, in which a man working in the cryptocurrency sector, his wife and their two children were tied up inside their home. Authorities are examining whether the father was targeted because of his connection to crypto.

According to reports cited by BFMTV and Le Parisien, the attackers forced the man to hand over access codes linked to digital assets and took close to €40,000 in cryptocurrency. The family was reportedly held for more than three hours before the father managed to alert emergency services at around 8 a.m. Sunday.

Family restrained during overnight intrusion

BFMTV reported on Sept. 20 that four people entered the family home during the night and tied up the couple and their children, who are 8 and 12 years old. The suspects then kept the family restrained for several hours inside the house.

The father was later able to contact emergency services while the family was still tied up. That alert reportedly caused the intruders to flee in a vehicle before police could catch them. As of the latest public reporting, the four suspects had not been identified and remained at large.

Investigators focus on crypto access codes

Le Parisien reported that preliminary findings indicate the attackers forced the father to surrender access codes before stealing nearly €40,000 in cryptocurrency. Investigators are treating the theft as potentially linked to the man’s work in the digital asset sector.

Public reporting has not identified the victim’s employer, his exact role, or the scale of his broader holdings. Authorities also have not publicly said whether the stolen cryptocurrency has been traced to any specific wallets or whether any of it has been recovered.

Assault reported during the robbery

Violence was part of the attack. The father was assaulted, and BFMTV cited a source close to the investigation as saying the couple’s daughter was struck in the face with car keys.

The reports reviewed so far did not describe any life-threatening injuries to members of the family. No further medical details were disclosed in the initial coverage.

What is known and what remains unclear

Investigators are still working to establish whether the assailants selected the household specifically because the father works in cryptocurrency. So far, no publicly available evidence has shown how the suspects may have learned of his ties to digital assets.

The case comes amid a broader pattern tracked by French authorities. According to official gendarmerie figures cited in the reporting, France recorded 77 crypto-linked kidnappings and detentions through July. In this case, the next confirmed step is the continuing police search for the four suspects and any effort to trace the stolen funds.

Source: crypto.news