Crypto exchange Binance is looking to increase its reach using France as its launchpad for Europe. By opening its facility in Station F, CEO Changpeng Zhao pledged a €100 million (about $108 million) commitment to make the country the “heart of the European crypto community”.
CZ announced the collaboration at the Paris Blockchain Week Summit. The investment is part of the Objective Moon program, which was announced last year, and aims to grow the entire industry by supporting France’s Web3 scene.
“France is uniquely positioned to be the leader of this industry in Europe,” he said. “We are committed to build and support a strong ecosystem around blockchain, Web.3 and metaverse. Starting in France as a launchpad for Europe, we aim at using this space as our creative and innovative base.”
As part of the early-stage startup support programme, selected startups will have access to Binance’s specialists and know-how, as well as access to the numerous resources made available by the world’s largest startup incubator Station F and support from the BNB Chain, NFT Labs, and Binance Labs.
Roxanne Varza, Director of Station F said that the partnership with Binance represents a first-in-kind endeavor for both entities. “For all the people willing to better understand blockchain and crypto, we hope this place will help them to enter the Web.3 world” she said.
Binance’s Objective Moon is a partnership with France FinTech for the development of the Binance Research and Development hub in France and to recruit blockchain talent from across Europe.
CZ has expected to receive digital asset service provider status in France for a while now. He had relished the idea to relocate the biggest crypto exchange’s headquarters to France this year.