PANews reported on July 4 that according to Cointelegraph, the Brussels Criminal Court in Belgium made a ruling on a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping case. The three kidnappers were sentenced to 12 years in prison each for kidnapping the wife of local crypto entrepreneur Stéphane Winkel in December 2024 and demanding a cryptocurrency ransom. At the same time, they were required to pay at least 1 million euros in civil compensation to the victim.

The mastermind of the case has not yet been arrested. Although the victim was rescued by the police in time, he was severely traumatized physically and mentally, forcing the Winkel couple to move. Winkel is the founder of the crypto education platform Crypto Académie, and his YouTube channel has 40,000 subscribers. After the incident, he said that he would adjust the content strategy to focus on security education rather than wallet practical demonstrations.