John Lee: ‘AI might have created Bitcoin’

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John Lee isn’t the first to question who – or what – created Bitcoin. But his theory is unusually bold: maybe it wasn’t a person at all. Maybe it was artificial intelligence.

“Well, by the way, I've got a fear of who he is. Okay? It's not a person. It's AI,” he told The Crypto Radio.

“Think about the application of Bitcoin – why it was created. It needs full infrastructure, which is decentralized. No one controls what's getting big right now, artificial intelligence. So it makes sense for AI to create something so complicated, right?”

Lee acknowledged that AI, at least as we currently know it, didn’t exist when Bitcoin was launched. But he insisted the theory holds weight. “I know AI didn't exist back then, but if you look at it, it makes sense.”

But for him, the theory is less about when AI became capable, and more about where the world is heading. He’s increasingly concerned with what happens when machines become fully autonomous. “AI will speak to AI. And then what's the use for humans?”

He added, half-joking, > “Maybe Elon’s an AI.”

He sees a future where work and income, as we know them, are fundamentally redefined. “People will not be trading time for money in the future.”

In that context, Bitcoin may not just be a new kind of money – it could be part of a system designed for a world where traditional economic roles no longer apply. And failing to understand that shift, Lee warned, comes with a cost.

“Do you know what's more expensive than education? Ignorance.”

If given the chance, Lee said he’d ask AI directly – not just how it created Bitcoin, but why. “What is the actual real reason why you created [Bitcoin]? What is your agenda for creating a decentralized currency, for control, for world domination?”

While Lee doesn’t claim to have answers, his speculation reflects how he approaches crypto itself: not just as a financial opportunity, but as a philosophical and technological turning point.

From food service to financial freedom

John Lee started out in his mother’s Chinese takeaway – learning business from the ground up. Photo: Unsplash / Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona

Lee’s path to crypto began far from the world of tech. He grew up working in his mother’s Chinese takeaway before building a career in property investment and real estate education – experiences that grounded him in practical value creation and business systems.

“I didn’t know anything about web3 or blockchain,” he said. “It was just kind of one of these punts. I got extra cash, dumped it in.”

He told The Crypto Radio that his real exposure came during the pandemic, when platforms such as Clubhouse created space for new conversations about money, technology, and opportunity. Over time, what began as casual interest turned into a deeper conviction – especially when he saw how blockchain could disrupt traditional models of ownership.

“What if you can take a piece of real estate, split it into 1,000 shares, and sell each share?”

To Lee, tokenization is a natural extension of the investing world he already knew – just with fewer barriers. Whether it's property, digital collectibles, or even access to someone’s future earnings, blockchain opens up new ways for people to invest, trade, and participate in value creation.

Investing like a venture capitalist

For Lee, crypto isn’t about hype or overnight gains. It’s about adopting the same long-term lens used in traditional business – and being mentally prepared to fail along the way.

“Many of them will go to zero,” he said. “But here's the thing – this is the Warren Buffett way, right? If you take 10 trades and nine of them fail, but one of them goes to the moon… is it worth it? Yeah, of course it is.”

“You've got to almost be like a VC in this.”

His message is that real risk management comes from diversification, patience, and strategic thinking. Lee encourages beginners to look beyond charts and trends, and instead research fundamentals.

“Join the communities. Look at how active they are, look at what’s happening, Telegram channels. Look how many members they are, right? Look at how much distribution they have,” he said.

That approach, he believes, offers a better chance of identifying tokens and technologies with lasting potential – even if most won’t survive.

Daily habits, not hype, drive results

Lee also shared a practical entry point for people feeling priced out or intimidated by the crypto space. His suggestion? Start with a small, automated habit.

“You take $100,000 and you divide that over 365 days, which is $273 per day. So you're going to take that $273, and put it in every single day.”

“If you just do that, like just set recurring 270 bucks a day – purchase, go and do your thing, come back in a year… look how much it's going to buy.”

And it doesn’t have to be a big number. Even a few dollars can add up fast.

“Everyone can afford $5 a day, right? It's a coffee.”

That simplicity is part of a wider mindset Lee promotes – one focused on learning, consistency, and staying detached from hype. His mantra is clear:

“Must learn before you earn.”

He believes the difference between success and failure in crypto often comes down to how people think, not just what they buy.

“Perfection is imperfection. We don't need to know the exact steps to get there. All I need to know is the direction, and then along the way, I'll see the signs.”

Listen to the whole interview on The Crypto Radio's live player or in the Crypto Curious podcast, part one and part two.