The statue sinks into the lake, but who is erasing Satoshi Nakamoto?

2025-08-04 17:20:43

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The statue of "the disappearing Satoshi Nakamoto" has vanished, which is a metaphorical irony.

Author: Bright, Foresight News

On August 3, Bitcoin News reported that the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Lugano, Switzerland, was stolen, and the statue's planner, Satoshigallery, is willing to offer a reward of 0.1 BTC for information leading to the recovery of the stolen statue. This immediately attracted attention from the crypto industry.

This is indeed quite bizarre, as the existence of Satoshi Nakamoto is still a matter of debate; who would destroy a symbol that has yet to have a corresponding real person?

Initially, X user @Grittoshi was the first to report the theft, noting that only two holes remained on the metal pedestal where the Satoshi statue once stood. He suspected that someone had thrown the sculpture into the lake next to it.

Subsequently, Satoshigallery posted on X: "We will reward 0.1 Bitcoin to anyone who can help us recover the Satoshi statue stolen yesterday in Lugano. You can steal our symbol, but you can never steal our soul. We are in this together, committed to placing this statue in 21 locations worldwide."

Just a week prior, Satoshigallery had unveiled the third Satoshi statue in Tokyo, Japan. Besides the statue stolen in Lugano, another Satoshi statue stands on the beach in El Salvador, the "Bitcoin country."

Tokyo, Japan

El Salvador, Bitcoin Beach

Fortunately, within a day, the Lugano city government recovered the missing Satoshi statue from the nearby lake. Satoshigallery announced on the X platform that the Satoshi sculpture had been found and expressed gratitude to the Lugano city government.

"The Disappearing Satoshi" statue vanished, which is a metaphorical irony.

On October 25, 2024, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, unveiled a statue commemorating the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, in Ciani Park (Villa Ciani). The event was hosted by Tether in collaboration with the Plan B initiative of the city of Lugano. At that time, Tether and Lugano were working together to transform the city into a global Bitcoin hub.

This modern-style statue, which was stolen, was designed by Italian artist Valentina Picozzi, the director of Satoshigallery, and took 18 months of research and design and 3 months of construction to complete. The statue is made of vertical stainless steel and weathering steel layers, and from certain angles, its face seems to disappear. This illusion symbolizes the anonymous origins of Bitcoin and the universal identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.

Immediately, a group of Lugano residents launched a public petition on Change.org. The petition requested the city government to provide logistical and security support to restore the artwork. The artist herself has pledged to rebuild it at her own expense and provide related services, while Satoshigallery has also expressed willingness to create and donate a new copy at their own cost. They declared, "We must protect the symbol of innovation and freedom."

"This work represents more than just a statue," said Luca Esposito, a spokesperson for the petition campaign, which also organized the "Satoshi Spritz Lugano"—a Bitcoin information event open to the public. "We are not asking the city government for any financial support," Luca Esposito emphasized, "We only commit to providing logistical support for the restoration work and collaborating with the artist to find a suitable, permanent, and safe location." It is reported that the Satoshi Spritz movement in Lugano is a grassroots organization dedicated to spreading knowledge, values, and principles related to Bitcoin through organizing gatherings, educational courses, and outreach activities, especially targeting young people.

He added, "Like Bitcoin, it symbolizes personal freedom, financial independence, and privacy rights, values that are deeply rooted in Swiss traditional principles, not just technological innovation."