In the early hours of Tuesday, April 4 local time, Bob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square and founder of Cash App, died in San Francisco from a stab wound.
Bill Barhydt, CEO of crypto wallet company Abra, tweeted on April 5 that Bob Lee was "killed in San Francisco earlier today," sharing a report from local media reports that reported Lee's death, but His name was not revealed. Jack Dorsey also confirmed Lee's death on the decentralized social media platform Nostr. "It's real. Got the call. Heartbreaking," reads a screenshot of Dorsey's post.
A notice from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) on April 4 explained that officers were called to a report of a stabbing at approximately 2:35 a.m. local time and found a "43-year-old adult male victim with obvious stabbing wounds”, adding: “Officers provided assistance and called medical personnel to the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Despite the efforts of first responders and medical personnel, the victim succumbed to his injuries.” Former UFC fighter Jake Shields tweeted on April 5 that a "good friend" had been killed in a "nice" neighborhood in San Francisco. He later revealed it was Lee, saying he hoped it would "at least bring attention to these issues" because he was "very high profile".
The SFPD said Lee's death was a homicide and an active investigation is underway. No arrests have been made and anyone with information is urged to contact the department, which can be made anonymously. Lee is chief product officer at MobileCoin, the creator of an eponymous privacy-oriented cryptocurrency. He rose to prominence in the tech industry for being the first CTO of Square, the payments platform Dorsey founded (later renamed Block), and for creating the popular mobile payments service Cash App.
Lee is a proponent of cryptocurrencies and said in a statement when he joined MobileCoin in December 2021 that "the traditional financial system has left hundreds of millions of 'unbanked' related interests."
