- Wave of crypto kidnappings
- Notre-Dameâs towers reopened
Changpeng Zhao, the previous chief government officer of cryptocurrency alternate Binance, just lately made a pessimistic statement 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 occurred final August.
That stated, Zhao hopes that issues will get higher for one of many main EU nations.
It’s also 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 as a consequence of a wave of cryptocurrency-related kidnappings.
In January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped from his dwelling in central France, along with his kidnappers demanding a €10 million ransom. Balland had certainly one 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 youngster. The masked attackers unsuccessfully tried to drive her right into a van.
Roughly 25 individuals linked 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 fireplace 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 long-lasting landmark lastly being reopened.
“Hope it helps to make France a safer nation (even when solely in some small manner),” CZ stated.