Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin firm that began trading this week, arranged the installation at the exchange traditionally associated with conventional finance.
Crypto News
A Satoshi Nakamoto statue created by artist Valentina Picozzi now stands at the New York Stock Exchange, marking a shift in Wall Street's relationship with cryptocurrency. The installation represents the sixth placement of Picozzi's "disappearing" statue series, with previous locations in Switzerland, El Salvador, Japan, Vietnam and Miami.
The NYSE called the statue "shared ground between emerging systems and established institutions" in its announcement. Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin firm that began trading this week, arranged the installation at the exchange traditionally associated with conventional finance.
Picozzi described seeing her work at the NYSE as mind-blowing, stating this achievement exceeded expectations. The artist plans to place 21 statues globally, referencing Bitcoin's theoretical 21 million coin maximum supply cap.
The installation coincides with the anniversary of the Bitcoin mailing list launched by Nakamoto on Dec. 10, 2008. Nakamoto mined the genesis block on Jan. 3, 2009, creating the first 50 Bitcoin and establishing the foundation for today's crypto industry.
Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made the first documented Bitcoin purchase on May 22, 2010, paying 10,000 Bitcoin for two pizzas. The industry faced skepticism from institutions and banks for years, with alleged government suppression efforts including Operation Chokepoint 2.0.
Institutional attitudes have transformed as former skeptics changed positions on the technology. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink represents one of the prominent figures who shifted from criticism to embracing digital assets, as Wall Street firms began investing through exchange-traded funds and treasury holdings.
Public and private companies, countries, and ETFs collectively hold more than 3.7 million Bitcoin worth over $336 billion, according to Bitbo. The accumulation reflects growing acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class among traditional financial institutions.
Picozzi explained the statue design represents a hacker in stereotypical pose with a laptop, honoring developers and programmers who built the blockchain ecosystem. The disappearing effect symbolizes Nakamoto's presence within Bitcoin's code lines, enabling humanity's first decentralized payment system while maintaining anonymity.
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