Charlie Lee: 'To make Litecoin More Decentralized, Eventually I Would Step Away'

Charlie Lee, former director of engineering at Coinbase crypto exchange and the creator of Litecoin has expressed his intention to make the altcoin a global decentralized cryptocurrency in an interview with TenX made Friday, April 27.

He also claimed that that goal would require him to eventually "Step away" from Litecoin as its leader.

In the interview, Lee suggested that Litecoin and Bitcoin are "Working close together," claiming that the coins are mutually reinforcing each other and are used for different purposes.

Lee stressed the decentralized nature of Bitcoin provided by its anonymous creator as its key feature, which is missed at Litecoin.

"Litecoin is more centralized because I'm around, so it has a more centralized development team, has more centralized foundation. I can steer litecoins towards my vision, and people will listen to me because I created it."

Answering the question of TenX crypto wallet co-founder Julian Hosp if Lee has ever considered moving away from his leading position, the Litecoin founder said that he actually "Stepped away for a little bit two years ago" when he focused on the development of a better use of Bitcoin at Coinbase.

"For a currency to really be a worldwide decentralized currency, you can't have ... a real leader who's trying to control things, so to make it more decentralized, eventually I would step away."

"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."

As Lee acknowledged, the move was "Definitely the first step" away, which he believes was a necessary measure eventually.

"I think eventually I had to step away," Lee stated.