In the world of business, you’ve either got it or you don’t. You either have what it takes to keep going and start more enterprises, or you’re a one-hit wonder (or not a hit at all). In the case of Bobby Lee, crypto entrepreneurism appears to be what he’s destined to do.
Bobby Lee: Coming Back Bigger
Lee is famous for having created China’s first bitcoin exchange. China has had a very mixed relationship with cryptocurrencies, having banned foreign exchanges and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in the past. It is also looking into potentially banning crypto mining given its alleged environmental impacts, though the country has yet to move forward on this.
At the same time, China says it is ready to unveil its new national cryptocurrency system designed to alleviate competition from the likes of Libra, Facebook’s new digital payment coin.
Lee ultimately sold his exchange BTCC for an undisclosed sum last year. While it was a huge deal when it first began, the company was forced to cease all operations in 2017 following Beijing’s decision to ban all crypto-related activity. While an exact number has never been given, Lee claims that the money he earned from the sale of BTCC was in the “eight-figure range.” That’s a lot of money for a non-functioning exchange.
Nevertheless, Lee has used the money to “enjoy life,” taking vacations and spending time with his family. He comments:
I spent most of last year giving speeches, traveling, taking some vacation, spending time with family, just enjoying life having made some money from my last startup.
But this easy-going lifestyle didn’t last. Apparently, Lee felt that itch to return to the crypto market and show off what he could do once more. He has now unveiled a new startup, known as Ballet, that builds credit-card sized bitcoin wallets. He claims the goal is to grant “normal people, regular people access to cryptocurrency.”
The first product Ballet is releasing is wallet called REAL. Unlike other digital wallets, this product has no electric parts. Thus, while it does contain electronic keys, it cannot be hacked by malicious actors. The wallet stores the private keys that unlock the wallet physically, much like a safe or vault of sorts.
Brand New and Already Leaving a Mark
Lee states:
It’s like cash. Once you load it with bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or whatever, this device has everything it needs to access the funds. It can be used as a gift to give someone or you can just store it in a safe deposit box and hide it somewhere at home. This is completely offline; there’s no hacking risk.
Ballet is stationed in Las Vegas, Nevada and has already garnered more than $5 million in seed funding since stepping onto the crypto scene.
