The founder of a cryptocurrency particularly beloved with Asian investors has sold nearly off of his stockpile of the digital tokens. The well-known currency creator had been accused of talking up his own book.
Charlie Lee, the founder of digital currency litecoin, has sold almost his entire holding of the digital currency, he said in a «Reddit» forum on Wednesday.
«I have sold and donated all my LTC. Litecoin has been very good for me financially, so I am well off enough that I no longer need to tie my financial success to Litecoin’s success,» he said.
The move follows accusations that Lee, who tweets frequently about litecoin under the moniker «Satoshi Lite,» had used his public statements about price moves to influence the currency. «In a sense, it is conflict of interest for me to hold LTC and tweet about it because I have so much influence,» Lee conceded, who emphasized that he had never bought or sold after making «major tweets» about the currency.
«Conflict of Interest»
Lee said that he no longer owns any tokens, save for several physical coins as collectibles. He said he isn't turning his back on litecoin: «Don’t worry. I’m not quitting Litecoin. I will still spend all my time working on Litecoin. When Litecoin succeeds, I will still be rewarded in lots of different ways, just not directly via ownership of coins. I now believe this is the best way for me to continue to oversee Litecoin’s growth.»
The cryptocurrency, often viewed by investors as less volatile than other digital tokens, is particularly beloved in Asia, where coin exchanges in South Korea and Hong Kong have integrated it. Regulators in the region are grappling with the enormous popularity of token schemes with retail investors, with Singapore's overseer warning investors in particularly stark terms of the potential dangers of such plays.
