Changpeng Zhao, the previous chief govt officer of cryptocurrency change Binance, lately made a pessimistic commentary about France, claiming that the European Union’s second-largest financial system has gone “downhill” during the last a number of years.
Zhao has pointed to a wave of cryptocurrency kidnappings which have occurred in France over the previous a number of years, in addition to the controversial arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov that happened final August.
That stated, Zhao hopes that issues will get higher for one of many main EU international locations.
It’s also price noting that France additionally launched a probe into Binance in early 2025, in line with Reuters.
Wave of crypto kidnappings
France has repeatedly made headlines this yr in crypto media as a result of a wave of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings.
In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped from his house in central France, together with his kidnappers demanding a €10 million ransom. Balland had considered one of his fingers severed throughout a kidnapping earlier than being rescued by France’s elite safety forces.
In Might, the daddy of a cryptocurrency millionaire was kidnapped earlier than being rescued by the police. Throughout the identical month, the daughter of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat was attacked by masked males collectively along with her little one. The masked attackers unsuccessfully tried to pressure her right into a van.
Roughly 25 folks related to the troubling sequence of kidnappings have been charged by French authorities. New safety measures tailor-made for crypto professionals have additionally been launched.
Notre-Dame’s towers reopened
Zhao’s criticism of France comes after the reopening of Notre-Dame’s medieval twin towers. It took 5 years to reconstruct them following the devastating hearth that occurred in April 2019.
CZ says that Binance donated to the restoration of Notre-Dame “fairly early on,” including that it’s good to see the enduring landmark lastly being reopened.
“Hope it helps to make France a safer nation (even when solely in some small method),” CZ stated.
