Changpeng Zhao, the previous chief government officer of cryptocurrency trade Binance, lately made a pessimistic remark about France, claiming that the European Union’s second-largest financial system has gone “downhill” over the past 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 passed off final August.
That stated, Zhao hopes that issues will get higher for one of many main EU international locations.
It is usually value noting that France additionally launched a probe into Binance in early 2025, in accordance with Reuters.
Wave of crypto kidnappings
France has repeatedly made headlines this yr in crypto media attributable to a wave of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings.
In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped from his house in central France, along with his kidnappers demanding a €10 million ransom. Balland had one in every of his fingers severed throughout a kidnapping earlier than being rescued by France’s elite safety forces.
In Could, 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 together with her baby. The masked attackers unsuccessfully tried to drive her right into a van.
Roughly 25 folks related to the troubling collection 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.
