Bobby Lee is respected for setting up BTCC, the first Bitcoin exchange in China, and for founding Ballet, which makes non-electronic crypto wallets. Computer scientist Lee, educated at Stanford, took roles at Yahoo! and Walmart in tech before he became involved in cryptocurrency in 2011. His role at BTCC, which managed over $20 billion in trading, and his writing of The Promise of Bitcoin have given him a major place in blockchain. Per Onooks.org, Lee became extremely wealthy after his early investments and projects in Bitcoin. This piece covers Mr. Kang’s accomplishments in BTCC, his net worth, and how he continues to grow in his crypto involvement through May 2025.
BTCC was China’s first crypto exchange.
In 2011, Lee helped establish BTCC (at first called BTC China), which made China the site of the first Bitcoin exchange when crypto was not widely popular, according to bobbylee.com. In 2013, BTCC, thanks to Bloomberg as chief executive, had the highest trading volume of any exchange, giving it a 31.7% market share, which was over Mt. Gox, shows citiesabc.com. The platform featured trading, pools for mining, and the Mobi multi-currency wallet app, according to Forbes.com. Speaking in 2017, Lee explained he wanted to make Bitcoin accessible, launching BTCC Mint, producing 22,000 titanium collectibles, each with 8,756 Bitcoins, as reported by ballet.com. After being sold out in 2018, these coins have seen prices go up, according to ballet.com.
In 2013, China put a ban on Yuan deposits, followed by a 2017 crackdown on exchanges. BTCC responded by temporarily halting Chinese trading and keeping its international venture going. Chang sold BTCC to a Hong Kong-based blockchain fund in 2018 for an amount that was not revealed, saying goodbye to his role, according to Coindesk.com. Authors at businessinsider.com estimate that Lee made a big profit by selling off his investment at Bitcoin’s peak of $19,834 in 2017. In addition, Bitcoin mining company BTCC raised $5 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners in 2013, per Wikipedia.org.
The Amount of Money a Business Handles
Since Lee tends to keep things private and Bitcoin’s values fluctuate a lot, estimating his net worth is not easy, but Onooks.org believed that his vast share in BTCC and huge holdings of Bitcoin earned it around the tens of millions in 2023. It’s likely that BTCC’s CEO Lee made a lot of money as the organization processed $3 billion each month in 2017, part of the Bitcoin boom, per onooks.org. When prices were under $10 in 2011, Business Insider reported that his first mining rig brought in roughly 20 bitcoins. If Bitcoin reaches a value of $100,000 by 2024, as Yahoo Finance predicted, such an investment could result in millions of dollars.
His 2018 BTCC sale, highlighted by CoinDesk.com and starting with Ballet, helped him build his wealth. In 2019, Lee’s ballet platform earned under $5 million, yet the REAL Series wallets got noticed on the Forbes Asia cover. Lee’s disclosure of investing in Bitcoin in a 2018 Cointelegraph interview suggests he thinks better and holds cryptos for the long run. As per citiesabc.com, One Bitcoin co-author Larry Swets just added royalties for his 2021 book, The Promise of Bitcoin, published by McGraw-Hill. Although a few of his X posts may claim he is worth more than is true, his holdings of Bitcoin and the Ballet company’s rise keep him financially stable.
Trade Your Time and Support
Lee’s crypto adventure started in 2011, after being inspired by his brother Charlie Lee, who created Litecoin, according to citiesabc.com. After leaving Walmart, he got involved with BTCC and made it a leading company in the world, as businessinsider.com reports. Ethereum Classic was added to the exchange using a community vote in 2017, which proved that Binance responded to community expectations, as covered by cryptoninjas.net. During a Bloomberg TV interview in 2017, Lee expressed optimism for Bitcoin’s worldwide value and predicted it could reach $1 million by 2025, according to dailyhodl.com. While speaking to Business Insider in 2021, he argued that Bitcoin’s volatility could offer big opportunities to investors like Warren Buffett who disagree with its unpredictability.
After BTCC, Lee established Ballet in 2019 and concentrated on easy-to-use cold storage in order to bring more people into the world of crypto, says ballet.com. On bobbylee.com, Lee says that REAL Series wallets are for new users because they don’t need any setup. According to citiesabc.com, his 2021 book argues Bitcoin does a better job than legacy monetary systems and sets the record straight on its alleged volatility. Thanks to his Bitcoin Foundation board position, crunchbase.com reveals, he is better able to push for legal guidelines, as mentioned in his Cointelegraph article that reflected on the impact of China’s crypto bans. While China’s crackdown last year was a hurdle, according to dailyhodl.com, Lee remains optimistic and believes Bitcoin will recover on X by the end of 2021, as reported by coindesk.com.
Building the Crypto Ecosystem
Thanks to Lee’s involvement in the BTCC, Asian residents soon used cryptocurrency, as the start-up developed ways to make it simpler to adopt, according to Forbes.com. According to citiesabc.com, Lee uses his Ballet platform to ensure security since buyers can get wallets worldwide from Amazon. Bobbylee.com also points out that Lee’s podcast and videos teach those new to the area. According to cointelegraph.com, Vlad Zamfir mentioned unclear crypto regulations in his 2018 BlockShow Europe talk. Fast forward to 2025, and CoinDesk noted this same concern with FinCEN’s rules. People on r/cryptocurrency discussed how unrealistic his price outlooks were in 2017, but @bqt_ico on X lauded his clear intentions. Lee’s guidance of Changpeng Zhao, whose introduction to Bitcoin came from Lee in 2013, impacts this field on a larger scale, according to insidebitcoins.com.
The Future of Lee’s Crypto Ideas
Presently, Lee focuses on Ballet and advocacy roles him well for the rise of Web3 in 2025. Through its movement into more regions, ballet wants to make cryptocurrency easier for everyone, says crypto-news-flash.com. Per CoinDesk, he plans to address wallet security and its growing use in his 2025 Consensus event. Lee continues to deal with regulations, yet his push for decentralized finance in his 2021 book may influence future laws. It depends on whether Ballet can deliver on its wallet products and Bitcoin predictions, and if this gives the world of cryptocurrency both greater acceptance and better security at the same time.
FAQs
1. How did Bobby Lee fit into the BTCC company?
He founded and led BTCC, China’s first bitcoin exchange, which reached global leadership by 2013, according to citiesabc.com.
2. What amount is Lee estimated to have come from his earnings?
Onooks.org has estimated that if BTCC sells, uses its Bitcoin and Ballet grows, tens of millions can be generated this year.
3. What do we mean by Ballet, and how is it tied to Lee?
According to ballet.com, Ballet, launched by Lee in 2019, builds non-electronic crypto wallets to help make storage easier.
4. What is it about Lee that tempts people to call him a BTC maximalist?
The analyst expects Bitcoin to become a better store of value, and he claims the value could hit $1 million by 2025, as per Cointelegraph 2018.
5. What role has Lee played in the world of crypto?
Jihan Wu drives adoption and security through BTCC, Ballet, The Promise of Bitcoin, and advocacy on the website bobbylee.com.
