Charlie Lee (computer scientist)
{{short description|American computer scientist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charlie Lee
| image = Charlie Lee.png
| birth_place = Ivory Coast
| education = BS and MS, computer science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000
| website = {{Twitter|satoshilite}}
}}
Charlie Lee is a computer scientist, best known as the creator of Litecoin. He serves as the managing director of the Litecoin Foundation.{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/litecoin-founder-charlie-lee-on-decision-to-sell-entire-crypto-holding-2018-4|title=The founder of litecoin said selling his entire stake 'feels like it's not the right decision'|last=Williams-Grut|first=Oscar|date=April 28, 2018|work=Business Insider|access-date=May 23, 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://litecoin-foundation.org/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Litecoin Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=May 26, 2018|archive-date=February 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216144022/https://litecoin-foundation.org/about-us/|url-status=dead}}
Early life
Lee was born in Ivory Coast, moved to the United States at the age of 13, and graduated from high school in 1995.{{Cite news|url=https://www.investopedia.com/news/who-charlie-lee-litecoin-founder/|title=Who Is Charlie Lee, Litecoin Founder?|last=Reiff|first=Nathan|date=May 7, 2018|work=Investopedia|access-date=May 9, 2018|language=en-US}} He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science in 2000.
Lee's brother, Bobby C. Lee, is the founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange BTC China.{{cite news|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|title=From Walmart To Bitcoin: The CEO Behind The Chinese Exchange Sending BTC To New Highs|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/11/08/from-walmart-to-bitcoin-the-ceo-behind-the-chinese-exchange-sending-bitcoin-to-new-highs/|work=Forbes|date=2013-11-08|accessdate=2013-11-08}}
Career
For a decade in the 2000s, Lee worked for Google. His work for the company included writing code for ChromeOS.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/08/litecoin/|title=Ex-Googler Gives the World a Better Bitcoin|last=Robert|first=McMillan|date=August 30, 2013|magazine=Wired|access-date=May 9, 2018|language=en-US}} In 2011, Lee became interested in Bitcoin.{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2017/12/12/litecoin-bitcoin-price-2018/|title=What Is Litecoin, and Why Is It Beating Bitcoin This Year?|last=Shen|first=Lucinda|date=December 12, 2017|work=Fortune|access-date=May 26, 2018|language=en|archive-date=January 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129070502/https://fortune.com/2017/12/12/litecoin-bitcoin-price-2018/|url-status=dead}} In October 2011, he released Litecoin on Bitcointalk.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/01/13/a-100-worth-of-litecoin-a-year-ago-is-worth-30000-today/|title=A $100 Worth Of Litecoin A Year Ago Is Worth $30,000 Today|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|date=January 13, 2014|work=Forbes|access-date=May 26, 2018|language=en}} He had written the blockchain technology based on Bitcoin in his spare time while employed at Google. He released Litecoin to the public after mining only 150 coins. Lee has stated that he did not intend to compete with Bitcoin but meant Litecoin to be used for smaller transactions.
In July 2013, Lee left Google and began working at Coinbase, before the cryptocurrency exchange adopted the coin he had created.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/08/litecoin/|title=Ex-Googler Gives the World a Better Bitcoin|last=Robert|first=McMillan|date=August 30, 2013|magazine=Wired|access-date=May 9, 2018|language=en-US}} Lee held the position of Engineering Director until 2017.{{cite web |last1=McGleenon |first1=Brian |title=Why is this crypto token rising amid crash and FTX collapse? |url=https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-token-crash-ftx-collapse-litecoin-doge-solana-144705733.html |website=Yahoo Finance |access-date=7 December 2022 |date=24 November 2022}}
In December 2017, Lee announced on Reddit that he sold almost all of his Litecoin holdings due to a perceived conflict of interest.{{Cite web|title=Litecoin price, tweets, and conflict of interest|date=December 20, 2017 |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/litecoin/comments/7kzw6q/litecoin_price_tweets_and_conflict_of_interest/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220082106/https://www.reddit.com/r/litecoin/comments/7kzw6q/litecoin_price_tweets_and_conflict_of_interest/ |archive-date=December 20, 2017 }} He had been criticized for his tweets, which had a possible effect on the price of the coin.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/20/litecoin-charlie-lee-conflict-of-interest/|title=Litecoin founder Charlie Lee has sold all of his LTC – TechCrunch|last=Russell|first=Jon|date=December 20, 2017|website=Techcrunch|language=en-US|access-date=May 23, 2018}} Lee sold or donated all of his coins except for a few minted in physical form, which he kept as collectibles.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/20/litecoin-founder-charlie-lee-sells-his-holdings-in-the-cryptocurrency.html|title=Litecoin founder Charlie Lee says he's sold all his holdings in the cryptocurrency|last=Browne|first=Ryan|date=December 20, 2017|work=CNBC|access-date=May 23, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://fortune.com/2017/12/20/charlie-lee-litecoin-cryptocurrency/|title=Founder of Bitcoin Rival Litecoin Sells His Cryptocurrency After 7,500% Rally|author=Bloomberg|date=December 20, 2017|work=Fortune|access-date=August 2, 2020|archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810071051/https://fortune.com/2017/12/20/charlie-lee-litecoin-cryptocurrency/|url-status=dead}}
Lee is currently working full-time with the Litecoin Foundation on fostering Litecoin adoption.{{Cite tweet |user=SatoshiLite |last=Lee |first=Charlie |number=1042648826027241472 |date = 20 September 2018 |title=I'm working on Litecoin full-time and focused on Litecoin adoption. }}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:American computer scientists
Category:Ivorian emigrants to the United States