Litecoin creator Charlie Lee has revealed on social media that he sold and donated all his LTC holdings over the past few days. The announcement was meant to show he no longer has a conflict of interest in promoting the altcoin but the timing has sparked some backlash against Lee.

Also Read: Thomson Reuters Adds Bitcoin Cash to Eikon Platform

Going Light on Litecoin

Founder of litecoin Charlie Lee has informed the community today that he no longer has any meaningful direct exposure to the cryptocurrency, having sold and donated all his LTC holdings in recent past days. Writing on Reddit he explains that this was done to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest when promoting LTC as someone with so much social influence.

Lee reassures his followers that this does not mean he is quitting litecoin and will still spend all his time working on the cryptocurrency he created. Lee also explains that he will continue to benefit from the growth of litecoin – just not by holding the cryptocurrency itself.

A Question of Timing

In his announcement Lee explains that over the last year he tried to avoid making public statements on Twitter about the price of litecoin as he would always be accused of doing so to push the price up or down in order to improve his personal position in the markets. He also explains that he is now so well off that he doesn’t need to have more financial gains from holding LTC and can afford to make this move.

Unfortunately not everyone in the cryptocurrency community, which is hardly known for its civil debates at the best of times, is accepting of Lee’s rationale. His timing of the announcement, so soon after Coinbase and Gdax added Bitcoin Cash (BCH) trading, is the main source of the backlash. Lee only left Coinbase back in June where he was the Director of Engineering.

Should all cryptocurrency influencers follow this move to appear unbiased, or is it better for them to have a stake in their coin’s future? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!