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Bob Lee, a financial technology executive who created the Cash App and was chief product of cryptocurrency company MobileCoin, was stabbed to death in downtown San Francisco on Tuesday, according to the cryptocurrency platform, police and his family.
The San Francisco Police Department said Tuesday that a 43-year-old man was stabbed earlier in the day and died at a hospital. The department’s statement, which did not name the victim, said the incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made.
“I just lost my best friend, my son Bob Lee when he was killed on the streets of San Francisco early Tuesday morning,” his father, Rick Lee, said in a post linking to a TechCrunch article about the stabbing.
“Bobby worked harder than anyone and was the smartest person I know. He will be missed by all who knew him,” he wrote.
‘force of nature’
Lee is the chief product officer for cryptocurrency company MobileCoin, where he is also an early-stage investor and advisor, the company said on Twitter.
“Bob is a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob is the original article. He was made for the world that is being born today, he is a dream child, and whatever he imagines, no matter how crazy, he makes it come true. MobileCoin CEO Joshua Goldbard wrote on Twitter.
Lee came on as head of product at MobileCoin and helped launch the Moby app, Goldbard said.
Lee was chief technology officer at digital payments company Square in 2013 when it launched the money transfer app now known as Cash App.
Cash App allows users to transfer money through a mobile application and is said by the company to be an alternative to traditional banking services.
Block Inc., formerly known as Square and the parent company of Cash App, was not immediately available for comment. But in a social media post Tuesday, Block CEO Jack Dorsey called Lee’s death “heartbreaking” and that “Bob was instrumental to Square and the Cash App.”
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‘A terrible tragedy’: the mayor
Lee was stabbed to death in San Francisco’s densely populated Rincon Hill neighborhood, near the Google offices and Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this is the city’s 13th homicide.
His death has fueled debate about public safety in San Francisco and its moribund downtown, which has yet to recover from the pandemic.
In a statement, San Francisco Mayor London Breed called the killing a “horrific tragedy” and said the city prioritized public safety.
“I’m sure if the police catch a case like this, the district attorney will do what it takes to hold someone accountable for what they did,” he said.
A police statement did not provide details on the circumstances of the stabbing. “This is an open and active investigation. We are therefore not releasing any further information,” said Niccole Pacchetti, public information officer, in an email. “We will provide more details as they become available.”
The US government has charged Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with multiple financial crimes after he was arrested in the Bahamas. He faces decades in prison if convicted.
Lee is remembered for his impact on the sector
Among the tech leaders who shared their devastation over Lee’s death was venture capitalist Wesley Chan, founder of FPV Ventures.
Chan said he became friends with Lee more than a decade ago when he worked at Google, when software engineers like Lee helped build the Android smartphone operating system before its release in 2008.
“He’s an incredibly good founder in the tech world,” Chan said by phone Wednesday. “His resume reads like a Fortune cover article.”
But Chan said Lee was also generous in helping to coach and champion other tech engineers and entrepreneurs who sought his advice.
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In the past two years, cryptocurrency exchange FTX has spent millions advertising with the likes of NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David. FTX also sponsors MLB, the Mercedes Formula One racing team and Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary. Earlier this month, Bloomberg established the platform – Sam Bankman-Fried – as one of the 100 richest people in the world. He is sometimes called the “Crypto King.” But now, after a financial leak led to mass withdrawals and a trading halt, Bankman-Fried is worthless. FTX has gone from a recent US$32 billion valuation to bankruptcy. Today, CBC senior business writer Pete Evans returns to explain how one of the world’s three largest crypto exchanges was brought down so quickly.
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