Binance boss Changpeng Zhao, nicknamed “CZ”, believes France can become the web 3 champion of tomorrow.
Binance continues to accelerate in France. The Chinese exchange platform, which claims 90 million customers, announced on Wednesday the opening of a web 3 space within Station F, to support startups in the ecosystem. This is one of the first realizations of Binance’s “Objectif Lune” program. This program has an envelope of 100 million euros to develop the blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrencies in France.
“France is very pro business, pro web 3, pro crypto. The legislation is very clear and the environment is favorable for the blockchain ecosystem. I think our web 3 space will be very promising,” said Changpeng Zhao, nicknamed “CZ Binance boss at BFM Business. The latter will also be invited on our antenna this Wednesday at 4 pm in the BFM Bourse program as part of the Paris Blockchain Week Summit.
“We love France. And this opening is a testament to our commitment. By taking France as a launch pad for Europe, we want to use this new space as our creative and innovative base,” the latter adds.
Web 3 is an “extremely important economy,” he says. “This is where the future of the economy is at stake. I believe France is well on its way to becoming the web 3 champion of tomorrow. I encourage all cryptocurrency companies to explore France, and Paris in particular as a hub for development”.
New offices in Paris
The space supports early stage start-ups, in areas such as blockchain, web 3 and metaverse. In addition, the selected start-ups can be hosted for free during their incubation period on Station F. They can also benefit from in-person support from Binance subsidiaries (BNB Chain, NFT Labs or Binance Labs). Over the past three years, Binance has invested in 120 start-ups. With this web 3 space, the platform believes it no longer has a limit in terms of investments. “We will likely double or triple that percentage in the coming years. We are limited only by our ability to interact with business projects,” notes CZ. Initially, this space will focus on infrastructure and education topics, before concentrating on other areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs.
Binance’s presence in France doesn’t stop there. Last November, the platform opened an office in Montrouge and has since hired 20 employees. It hopes to recruit 100 new employees and open new offices in central Paris by the end of the year. Of the 100 million euros, 2 million euros was invested in the form of sponsorship to renovate the lounge oeil de boeuf at the Château de Versailles.
Binance is still seeking PSAN (digital asset service providers) approval from the AMF, which would bring it into the world of regulated platforms (see the AMF list here), after submitting an application in December 2020.
“We also want to help develop the French regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. We want to be a fully regulated exchange and bring more regular users to the cryptocurrency space,” says CZ.
