Bitcoin inventor statue unveiled in Budapest

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Issued on: 09/16/2021 – 20:06 Modified: 09/16/2021 – 20:04

Budapest (AFP)

Hungarian bitcoin enthusiasts unveiled a statue in Budapest on Thursday that they say is the first in the world to honor Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic inventor of virtual currency.

The bronze bust depicts a hooded figure, hinting that Nakamoto’s true identity – a pseudonym – is unknown.

The sculpture, erected in a business park next to a statue of Apple founder Steve Jobs and an installation by Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik, was designed by bitcoin entrepreneur and journalist Andras Gyorfi.

It was funded by four Hungarian cryptocurrency organizations.

“In March, I was researching the link between digital art and blockchain,” Gyorfi told AFP before the unveiling.

“And I was like, ‘Why wouldn’t Satoshi have a statue in Budapest?’” He said.

The sculpture was erected in a business park alongside a statue of Apple founder Steve Jobs and an installation by Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik ATTILA KISBNEDEK AFP

To reflect the mystery surrounding the true identity of the founder of Bitcoin, sculptors Tamas Gilly and Reka Gergely transformed the face into a sort of mirror.

“The basic concept of bitcoin is that it belongs to everyone, internet users, that we are all Satoshi,” Gilly told AFP in his workshop just outside Budapest earlier this month.

“So anyone can recognize themselves by looking at the face,” he said.

Created following the global financial crisis of 2008, bitcoin aspired to overthrow traditional monetary and financial institutions such as central banks.

The founding white paper, published on October 31, 2008 and written by Nakamoto, included the primary goal of processing online payments between two parties without going through a financial institution.

Since the creation of a first block of 50 bitcoins in January 2009, approximately 18.8 million units are currently in circulation.

Sculptor Tamas Gilly applies a layer of wax to the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious inventor of bitcoin ATTILA KISBENEDEK AFP

Cryptocurrency has been on a roller coaster recently, showing strong price swings.

But over the past year, bitcoin has increasingly gained support from investors large and small, including on Wall Street and Tesla boss Elon Musk.

It struck a world first this month by becoming legal tender in El Salvador.

AFP 2021

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