Key Takeaways
- A Satoshi Nakamoto sculpture has been installed inside the New York Stock Exchange.
- The artwork is part of a 21-piece global series by artist Valentina Picozzi.
- The installation follows another high-visibility Bitcoin moment.
A sculpture honoring Bitcoin’s mysterious founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, has been unveiled inside the New York Stock Exchange, marking one of the most prominent acknowledgments to date of the cryptocurrency sector by a major U.S. financial institution.
The work, created by Italian artist Valentina Picozzi, was installed this week as part of her global project dedicated to the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin.
Satoshi Nakamoto Bitcoin Statue
The NYSE piece is the sixth in a planned series of 21 sculptures, echoing Bitcoin’s capped supply of 21 million tokens.
Picozzi said the placement of the artwork in the historic exchange was an unexpected milestone for the initiative.
The installation was supported by Twenty One Capital, the Tether-backed Bitcoin treasury venture led by Strike founder Jack Mallers.
Officials at the exchange described the statue as a symbolic meeting point between traditional markets and emerging digital-asset systems.
“From code to culture, the placement represents an artistic reflection on how new ideas become part of shared history,” the NYSE wrote on X.
Its debut coincided with the anniversary of the Bitcoin developer mailing list, launched by Nakamoto on Dec. 10, 2008.
Picozzi wrote: “This is such an achievement, even in our wildest dream we wouldn’t think about placing the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in this location!”
The Satoshigallery project was launched in 2020 with the aim of chronicling Bitcoin’s cultural and technological story through public artwork.
Earlier statues have been installed in Miami, El Salvador, Vietnam and Japan.
Mystery Continues
The identity of Nakamoto has remained the biggest mystery of Bitcoin, with countless theories and ideas of who it could be.
Nakamoto has not been heard from since disappearing on April 23, 2011.
In October, HBO released a documentary, directed by Cullen Hoback, sending the filmmaker across the world to understand the origins of Bitcoin and its creator.
Despite the widespread interest in the documentary, none of the theories presented were substantiated.
Bitcoin in Times Square
The statue appeared in the NYSE after another mainstream event for Bitcoin: a whole billboard dedicated to it in the middle of Times Square.
Also an advertisement for Twenty One Capital, the billboard read: “No man should work for what another man can print.”
The pro-Bitcoin slogan caught the attention of millions online, with one user writing:
“I remember Jack Mallers saying they were taking over Times Square for a few hours in honor of 21 capital going public today.”
Another user wrote: “Your life energy should not be exchanged for something another party can print at infinite scale.
“Bitcoin is the first monetary network that removes that asymmetry. It preserves the value of your work with rules no one can alter.”
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
