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.
HOT Stories Binance’s CZ Says France Has 'Gone Downhill'XRP Price Prediction: What ETF Means for Third-Largest Cryptocurrency "Dogecoin to the Moon?" Top Meme Coin Trader Reveals $1 DOGE Price PredictionSecret Ethereum (ETH) Price Signal at $4,530, New XRP Price Range to Reveals Next Price, Shiba Inu (SHIB) Losing $0.000013
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.
You Might Also Like
Tue, 09/16/2025 - 13:33 Binance CEO Redefines Bitcoin in Just 3 WordsByGamza Khanzadaev
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.
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
