1 Louvet holds 59%
Manuel Valente, former director of La Maison du Bitcoin, now chief scientific officer of Coinhouse, 25%
Vincent Renaudineau, 16%
2 Financial investment adviser, a French regulated status
3 The national chamber of financial investment advisers, a professional body
4 Arizen, parent company of Coinhouse, to be the first French cryptoasset platform getting a financial investment advisor license, Fintech Finance News, 6 September 2018
5 Digital asset service provider, France’s registration for crypto businesses
6 €1.5M with XAnge, HiPay, Thibaut Faurès Fustel de Coulanges, Fred Potter, Alain Tingaud Innovations
7 €7M, Series A, with Libertus Capital, Digital Currency Group, The Whittemore Collection, Kima Ventures, XAnge, Wicklow Capital, GDTre, BHB NETWORK, Nicolas Pinto
8 €75M, Series B, with Draper Associates, Draper Venture Network, Draper Dragon, Cathay Innovation, Korelya Capital, Boost VC, Caphorn, Digital Currency Group, GDTre, Molten Ventures, FirstMark
With an extension 18 months later of €2.9M with Samsung, at a valuation of €290M
9 “Cryptomonnaies : la pépite française Ledger va couper dans ses effectifs” [Crypto: French rising star Ledger to cut jobs], Raphael Bloch, Les Echos, 10 April 2019
10 Including long-standing investors Cathay Innovation, Draper Associates, Draper Dragon, Draper Esprit, DCG, Wicklow Capital and newcomers Tekne Capital, Uphold Ventures, Felix Capital, Inherent, Financière Agache (Groupe Arnault) and iAngels Technologies
11 With TGV, DFG, VaynerFund, 10T, Cite Gestion, Caphorn, Morgan Creek Capital Management, Cathay Innovation, Korelya Capital, Molten Ventures, Draper Dragon
12 These figures are the ones used for an IPO that never happened, and may have changed since.
13 Specialised inter-regional court, handling organised crime
14 “Cryptomonnaies : un des fondateurs de Ledger kidnappé, les enquêteurs s'activent dans le Cher” [Crypto: a Ledger founder kidnapped, investigators at work in the Cher], Antoine Bailleron and Geoffroy Jeay, Le Berry Républicain, 22 January 2025
15 At this stage, and to avoid anything that could harm the proceedings, I will not share any further information.
16 The local police station’s anti-crime squad
17 France’s national court for organised crime
18 The programme had not yet aired at the time of writing
19 Amount confirmed by Le Parisien, which speaks of “just under €3M”, and by Cryptoast , which speaks of “at least €3M”
20 Nicolas Bacca: « We have invented a unique organisational model for intervening in cryptocurrency ransom », Grégory Raymond, The Big Whale, 24 January 2025
22 Several wallets were used. This one is cited because it has been publicly named and flagged as such on Etherscan. To avoid any interference, the other wallets will not be mentioned here.
23 Thanks to R. and T. for their help with the complex tracing.
24 Strictly speaking this is not a conversion, since these are different blockchains.
25 Tether freezes wallet of Ledger library exploiter; Ledger provides more details, Anna Baydakowa, The Block, 14 December 2023
A letter from Ledger Chairman & CEO Pascal Gauthier Regarding Ledger Connect Kit Exploit, Ledger, 14 December 2023
26 “Le propriétaire de la maison où a été séquestré le cofondateur de Ledger sera privé de loyer pour 6 à 24 mois” [The owner of the house where Ledger’s co-founder was held will lose rent for 6 to 24 months], Marine Richard, Le Figaro, 28 January 2025
27 INFO JDD. “Troyes : un nouvel enlèvement dans le milieu des cryptomonnaies, quatre suspects interpellés”, [Troyes: another kidnapping in crypto circles, four suspects arrested], Jules Torres, Le Journal du Dimanche, 25 January 2025
28 “« Il m’a mis en joue » : avant l’affaire Ledger, l’influenceur crypto Owen Simonin a lui aussi été agressé” [“He aimed his gun at me”: before the Ledger case, crypto influencer Owen Simonin was attacked too], Maxime Gayraud, Le Parisien, 23 January 2025
30 “Ain : Enlevé le 31 décembre, un homme retrouvé ligoté dans le coffre d’une voiture au Mans” [Ain: abducted on 31 December, a man found tied up in a car boot in Le Mans], 20 Minutes, 2 January 2025
31 Note added after sending: which is absolutely not the case for Fabrice Balland
32 Djordje « Switzyman » Novakovic: Persistence, patience, and foresight are vital for entrepreneurial success
I’m the James Bond of crypto & I’ve made £30m before my 25th birthday, I spend fortune on pet orangutan & supercars
Meet Djordje « Switzyman » Novakovic - the man on a mission to empower retail investors
Exclusive: 'James Bond of crypto' shows off lavish lifestyle of flash cars - and orangutan pal
“L’entrepreneuriat avant 25 ans : portrait de Djordje Novakovic” [Entrepreneurship before 25: a portrait of Djordje Novakovic]
33 The liberty and custody judge, who rules on pre-trial detention
34 “L'ombre d'un réseau criminel derrière le rapt de David Balland” [The shadow of a criminal network behind David Balland’s abduction], Aujourd’hui en France, 25 January 2025
35 “« L’anonymat n’existe pas sur la blockchain » : Jonathan Levin, patron de Chainalysis” [“Anonymity does not exist on the blockchain”: Jonathan Levin, head of Chainalysis], David Pargamin, Challenge, 31 January 2025