Ledger co-founder David Balland suffered hand mutilation during a harrowing 48-hour kidnapping in France tied to a crypto ransom.

David Balland and his wife were rescued in a police operation involving elite units, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.

A co-founder of French crypto company Ledger was released on Wednesday after being kidnapped from his home in France, the prosecutor's office in Paris said. David Balland was kidnapped early on Tuesday morning at his home in central France and taken by car to another address where he was held captive,