Hackers have demanded a ransom from the French crypto company Waltio after gaining access to some of its users' data.
This Friday morning, we filed a complaint for attempted extortion and violation of an automated data processing system.
— Waltio (@Get_Waltio) January 23, 2026
On January 21, 2026, we received a threat of extortion. This seems to follow a particularly sophisticated attack...
"On January 21, 2026, we became victims of an extortion attempt. This appears to have occurred after a particularly sophisticated attack that allowed access to certain company data," the statement said.
The platform enables users to calculate capital gains tax on digital assets.
According to Le Parisien, hackers from the Shiny Hunters group stole data from 50,000 accounts. Waltio serves approximately 150,000 users.
The company assured that the breach was not related to a hack of its infrastructure—services are operating normally, and client data is secure.
The attackers accessed tax reports for 2024, which include the account owner's email address, profits or losses, and asset balances at the end of the period. Most records contain even more limited information.
According to Waltio, the breach did not affect passwords, exchange API keys, wallet addresses, transaction histories, bank accounts, or any data that could facilitate fund transfers. CEO Pierre Morize emphasized that clients do not provide any information to the platform other than their email addresses.
He noted that the primary risk of the incident lies in potential fraud through social engineering methods. Hackers could use phishing tactics to contact users, posing as customer support representatives.
"Some attackers may use contextual elements (such as the presence of a tax report or summary information) to appear credible," Morize added.
He recommended verifying the authenticity of emails from Waltio using a security code and not responding to calls or texts from supposed company representatives, as they do not have clients' phone numbers.
It is worth noting that in 2025, the total value of cryptocurrencies stolen through phishing attacks decreased by 83% to $83.85 million, as calculated by SlowMist.