#cryptonews
David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, a French crypto hardware wallet manufacturer, was rescued after being kidnapped in central France on January 21, according to a January 23 report from Bloomberg.
The Paris prosecutor’s office stated that the kidnappers demanded a substantial cryptocurrency ransom.
Reports indicate that Balland was abducted from his home in central France on the morning of January 21 and taken to an undisclosed location. Balland’s wife was also reportedly abducted but was later rescued by authorities in the Essonne region.
“Be careful with published information that could threaten an ongoing investigation in France and possibly someone else’s life,” French journalist Grégory Raymond said, corroborating news of Larchevêque’s safety in a Wednesday X post.
News of Balland’s rescue came amid unsubstantiated reports that fellow Ledger co-founder Eric Larchevêque had also been kidnapped, though those rumors were swiftly dismissed.
Following reports of the incident, Casa founder Jameson Lopp expressed concern on social media, writing, “Lots of unconfirmed rumors swirling that a Ledger co-founder / executive was kidnapped for ransom. We have no reliable info on what has transpired, though Ledger’s silence makes my spidey sense tingle.”
According to U.S. News & World Report, Ledger raised $380 million in a funding round, giving it a valuation of over $1.5 billion.