French authorities are preparing additional measures to protect crypto investors amid a rising wave of kidnappings and so-called wrench attacks.

Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week, Jean-Didier Berger, minister delegate to the interior minister, said the government is already taking steps to address the growing threat and is working on a more comprehensive plan in the coming weeks alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Government Steps Up Prevention Efforts

Berger revealed that authorities have launched a prevention platform aimed at helping crypto holders better protect themselves. The initiative has already attracted thousands of users.

He described these efforts as part of a broader push to reduce incidents where criminals target individuals known to hold digital assets.

Latest Kidnapping Sparks Urgency

The comments come shortly after another high-profile case in France.

Earlier this week, a mother and her 11-year-old child were reportedly abducted in Burgundy by four suspects who demanded a €400,000 ransom from the father, a crypto entrepreneur. Authorities quickly intervened, arresting the suspects and safely freeing the victims.

The incident has added pressure on the government to respond more aggressively to the trend.

Sharp Rise in Wrench Attacks

France has become a hotspot for wrench attacks, where victims are threatened or physically harmed to force the transfer of crypto assets.

Since the start of 2026, there have been 41 reported crypto-related kidnappings in the country, averaging one incident every 2.5 days.

Globally, such attacks rose sharply in 2025. Data from CertiK shows a 75% increase, with 72 verified cases worldwide. France accounted for the highest number of incidents, with 19 confirmed cases, while Europe made up around 40% of the global total.

Crypto Holders Increasingly Targeted

Several recent incidents highlight the scale of the issue.

In March, a French couple in their late 50s lost approximately $1 million in Bitcoin after criminals posing as police officers robbed them.

In another case earlier this year, six individuals were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a magistrate and her mother, targeting the magistrate’s partner, who is involved in the crypto sector.

Stronger Measures Expected Soon

With attacks becoming more frequent and organized, French authorities are expected to introduce stricter protective measures in the near future.

Berger indicated that the upcoming plan will go beyond prevention efforts, signaling a more serious and coordinated response to safeguard crypto investors.

Ethereum closed 2025 with a major milestone that underscores its continued leadership in the smart contract ecosystem. According to data from Token Terminal, developers deployed 8.7 million smart contracts on Ethereum in Q4 2025, marking the highest quarterly total in the network’s history.

The figure reflects more than just raw activity. It points to sustained confidence in Ethereum as the primary platform for building decentralized applications, even as competition from alternative blockchains intensifies.

Ethereum contract deployments have steadily increased over the past year, but the sharp acceleration in the final quarter signals that developers are not slowing down. Instead, they appear to be doubling down on Ethereum’s infrastructure as the foundation for long-term innovation.

Ethereum’s Developer Ecosystem Shows Structural Strength

The surge in Ethereum smart contract deployments is closely tied to the rapid expansion of its Layer 2 ecosystem. Rollup networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base have lowered costs and improved scalability while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum’s core architecture. As a result, developers can deploy contracts more frequently without facing the same economic constraints that once limited on-chain experimentation.

This rollup-driven model has effectively extended Ethereum’s reach. While contracts may execute on Layer 2 networks, they still rely on Ethereum for settlement and security. That relationship helps explain why Ethereum contract activity continues to rise even as usage spreads across multiple chains.

At the same time, developer tooling around Ethereum has matured significantly. Improved frameworks, clearer documentation, and broader grant support have reduced friction for teams launching new protocols or testing novel ideas. These improvements make it easier to move from concept to deployment, contributing directly to the record numbers seen in Q4.

DeFi and NFTs Contribute to Renewed On-Chain Activity

Another factor behind the increase in Ethereum contract deployments is a rebound in decentralized finance and NFT-related experimentation. While earlier cycles saw speculative excess, recent activity has leaned more toward infrastructure upgrades, protocol iterations, and utility-focused applications.

DeFi teams continue to refine lending, trading, and liquidity mechanisms, often deploying multiple contracts as part of iterative development. NFT projects, meanwhile, are expanding beyond simple collectibles into areas such as gaming, identity, and digital rights, each requiring more sophisticated smart contract architectures.

Together, these trends create consistent demand for new deployments rather than one-off launches.

Why the 8.7 Million Figure Matters

Reaching 8.7 million Ethereum contract deployments in a single quarter is not just a symbolic achievement. It highlights the depth of developer engagement and suggests Ethereum remains the default environment for building complex on-chain systems.

Unlike short-term metrics tied to price or speculation, developer activity tends to reflect long-term confidence. Builders invest time and resources where they expect ecosystems to remain relevant and secure. The Q4 data indicates that, despite higher competition and ongoing debates around scalability and fees, Ethereum still holds that position.

Looking ahead, Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap is likely to push deployment numbers even higher. As more activity shifts to Layer 2 networks, developers can experiment faster while relying on Ethereum as the settlement layer. That dynamic reinforces Ethereum’s role as the backbone of Web3 rather than diminishing it.

For now, the record-setting quarter sends a clear signal: Ethereum’s developer ecosystem remains one of the strongest indicators of its long-term resilience and relevance in the blockchain space.

China’s digital RMB, also known as the e-CNY, is preparing for one of its most significant structural upgrades since its launch. Beginning January 1, 2026, the digital currency will shift to an interest-bearing model, a move that signals a deeper integration of the digital RMB into China’s traditional banking framework and broader financial system.

The planned change marks a clear evolution from the digital RMB’s original design, which emphasized strict reserve backing and non-interest-bearing balances. While final confirmation from the People’s Bank of China is still pending, the direction of policy is already reshaping expectations around how the e-CNY will function in practice.

A shift toward interest-bearing digital RMB accounts

Under the new framework, banks operating digital RMB wallets will be allowed to pay interest on user balances. More importantly, those balances will be recorded on banks’ balance sheets, rather than being fully segregated as off-balance-sheet liabilities. This change brings the digital RMB closer to how traditional bank deposits are treated today.

Previously, digital RMB holdings were backed by a 100% reserve requirement, limiting banks’ ability to manage liquidity or deploy funds efficiently. The upcoming model introduces partial reserve management, giving banks greater flexibility in asset-liability management while still preserving oversight through the existing dual-layer system. In this structure, the central bank remains responsible for issuance, while commercial banks handle distribution and customer-facing services.

By allowing interest payments, digital RMB wallets begin to resemble conventional savings or transaction accounts, rather than passive payment instruments. This shift may encourage broader usage, particularly among users and institutions that previously viewed the e-CNY as functionally inferior to bank deposits.

Deposit protection and regulatory alignment

One of the most consequential aspects of the upgrade is legal and regulatory alignment. Once digital RMB balances are treated as on-balance-sheet liabilities, they are expected to fall under China’s deposit insurance framework. This provides users with formal protection similar to that enjoyed by traditional depositors, reducing perceived risk and reinforcing trust in the system.

From a regulatory standpoint, the move also simplifies supervision. Treating the digital RMB as a deposit-like product allows regulators to apply existing banking rules more consistently, rather than maintaining a parallel framework for digital currency balances. For banks, this reduces compliance complexity and clarifies how digital RMB fits into capital and liquidity requirements.

Why China is making this move now

China has already seen large-scale adoption of the digital RMB under its non-interest-bearing model, with trillions of yuan reportedly circulated during pilot phases. However, usage has largely been driven by government programs, subsidies, and controlled use cases, rather than organic consumer preference.

Introducing interest is a practical incentive. It makes holding digital RMB economically neutral, or even advantageous, compared to cash or low-yield transaction accounts. At the same time, partial reserves give banks a reason to actively support and promote e-CNY wallets, rather than viewing them as operational overhead.

This shift also reflects broader strategic goals. China continues to modernize its payment infrastructure and reduce reliance on cash, while strengthening monetary oversight in an increasingly digital economy. An interest-bearing digital RMB supports those objectives without abandoning centralized control.

Potential implications beyond China

Although the digital RMB remains primarily a domestic project, its evolution is being closely watched internationally. An interest-bearing central bank digital currency challenges the assumption that CBDCs must be non-yielding to avoid competition with banks. China’s approach suggests that integration, rather than separation, may be the preferred long-term model.

For global institutions and policymakers, the changes offer a real-world case study in how digital currencies can coexist with commercial banking systems. If successful, the e-CNY could influence how other countries design their own digital currencies, particularly in emerging markets seeking both financial inclusion and system stability.

As the 2026 rollout approaches, attention will turn to implementation details, interest rate structures, and limits on balances. What is clear, however, is that China’s digital RMB is no longer an experimental payment tool. It is steadily becoming a core component of the country’s financial architecture, with implications that extend well beyond digital wallets.