Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive officer of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, recently made a pessimistic observation about France, claiming that the European Union’s second-largest economy has gone “downhill” over the last several years.
Zhao has pointed to a wave of cryptocurrency kidnappings that have occurred in France over the past several years, as well as the controversial arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov that took place last August.
That said, Zhao hopes that things will get better for one of the leading EU countries.
It is also worth noting that France also launched a probe into Binance in early 2025, according to Reuters.
Wave of crypto kidnappings
France has repeatedly made headlines this year in crypto media due to a wave of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings.
In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was abducted from his home in central France, with his kidnappers demanding a €10 million ransom. Balland had one of his fingers severed during a kidnapping before being rescued by France’s elite security forces.
In May, the father of a cryptocurrency millionaire was kidnapped before being rescued by the police. During the same month, the daughter of Paymium CEO Pierre Noizat was attacked by masked men together with her child. The masked attackers unsuccessfully attempted to force her into a van.
Roughly 25 people connected to the troubling series of kidnappings have been charged by French authorities. New security measures tailored for crypto professionals have also been introduced.
Notre-Dame’s towers reopened
Zhao’s criticism of France comes after the reopening of Notre-Dame’s medieval twin towers. It took five years to reconstruct them following the devastating fire that occurred in April 2019.
CZ says that Binance donated to the restoration of Notre-Dame “pretty early on,” adding that it is good to see the iconic landmark finally being reopened.
“Hope it helps to make France a safer country (even if only in some small way),” CZ said.