Bob Lee, creator of Cash App, dies in San Francisco stabbing

Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App and the first chief technology officer of Square, was killed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The San Francisco Police Department reported that officers responded to a stabbing at approximately 2:35 a.m. on April 4, near San Francisco's Financial District and Rincon Hill. The victim was a 43-year-old adult male victim suffering from apparent stab wounds and later died at a local hospital.

The SFPD said by email that it is an open and active investigation. Although the department did not confirm his identity and declined to provide further details, news reports say the victim was Lee. His death was confirmed by the CEO of blockchain-based payments company MobileCoin, where Lee served as chief product officer.

"Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators," said Joshua Goldbard, CEO of the San Francisco-based MobileCoin, in an emailed statement. "Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob was the genuine article. He was made for the world that is being born right now, he was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real."

Lee was living in Miami but had traveled to San Francisco on business, according to the San Francisco Standard. 

Before MobileCoin, Lee led a team creating Android code at Google; served as first CTO of Square, the company now known as Block; and created Cash App. He also invested in and advised several companies, including social network Clubhouse, interface design tool Figma and MobileCoin. 

Lee later became MobileCoin's chief product officer in December  2021 and helped launch the company's noncustodial wallet, the Moby app, in January of this year. 

"He wanted a world where you and I could transact free from the prying eyes of predatory corporations and criminals," said Goldbard in his statement. "We are grateful for and humbled by all he has done for us and to grow MobileCoin's vision."

In a blog post announcing his CPO role in 2021, Lee said, "Much like encrypted messengers support free speech, MobileCoin supports free commerce. With financial data security more important than ever, developing end-to-end encrypted payment technology … [is] our responsibility."

In a Twitter thread, Goldbard wrote, "As a lifelong Bay Area resident I have more questions than answers tonight. I don't know how to fix what's wrong, but I know something isn't working in our grey city. Bob left this world too soon."