Chinese Bitcoin Billionaire Unexpectedly Exits Crypto Industry, Controversy Ensues

Cryptosphere Says Goodbye To Chinese ‘Bitcoin Tycoon’

You may not know his name, but Li Xiaoli, China’s in-house Bitcoin billionaire and blockchain investor, is one of the most well-known, experienced individuals in the entire cryptosphere. However, despite his prestige in this nascent industry, he has unexpectedly announced that he intends to stop investing actively in this space in the future.

For those who are unaware, Li is the founder of BitFund, a Beijing-based venture capital fund with a focus on promising cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. Over the course of his time in this industry, he has been touted as one of China’s largest Bitcoin holders, with rumors stating that he owns tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of the shiny gold digital tokens.

According to a post from the billionaire on Weibo, one of the most popular social media platforms in China, as translated by TechNode, Li wrote:

From this day on, I, Li Xiaolai, will personally not invest in any projects (whether it is blockchain or early stage). So, if you see ‘Li Xiaolai’ associated with any project (I have been associated with countless projects without my knowledge, 99% is not an exaggeration), just ignore it.

The Chinese Bitcoin tycoon went on to add that he has plans to sit on his laurels for “several years,” as he will contemplate where he wants to move and achieve next in his life, which he isn’t too sure of at the time of writing. There is still speculation that he still has plans to invest in blockchain projects, but through alternative means, like via an investment fund or institution, as Li may want to distance himself from the public spotlight.

Due to his influence over the cryptosphere, his sudden departure has had quite an impact, one user wrote that “Li Xiaolai’s value has been seriously underrated.” While there were dozens who were sad to see him leave, there were others who thought it couldn’t come soon enough, as it would be fair to say that he has been quite the topic of controversy in the past.

Even earlier this year, Li was seemingly forced to step down from his managing partner role at Hangzhou Xiong’An Blockchain Fund after he was accused of several damming things by his fellow industry leaders. Chen Weixing, a Chinese venture capitalist, called Li a “tumor” in the side of China’s cryptosphere, for one, later noting that the investor still owed over 30,000 BTC to an unnamed group of creditors. Although this situation has seemingly gone unaddressed, it could be assumed that this accusation likely made him want to distance himself from this industry.

Moreover, as reported by Ethereum World News in early July of this year, Li has also openly called out a multitude of leading crypto startups and projects. According to leaked conversations, the well-known, Chinese investor called NEO “stupid and worthless,” Binance “fraudulent,” and Justin Sun a “scammer,” just to name a few of the inflammatory statements he made.

Due to the fact that the conversation was leaked, the firms and individuals mentioned in the leaked recording have since responded, He Yi, an executive at Binance for one, claimed that Li made false claims and was just trying to garner attention. Again, the scathing responses made against the investor’s rather rude comments likely made him want to leave this space, which has become increasingly hostile towards him as of late. Or then again, maybe the increasing regulatory pressure on this industry from the Chinese government has rationalized his decision to leave this industry, as who wants to be put in jail….. right?

Photo by Yiran Ding on Unsplash