A monument for Satoshi Nakamoto is set to emerge in Budapest, Hungary, as a part of a local initiative by Hungarian crypto community to raise awareness about the importance of Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology.
The idea started with András Györfi, the editor of the Hungarian crypto website Kripto Akadémia. The project team also includes Imre Szilágyi, founder of Blockchain Budapest, the main blockchain and crypto conference in Hungary, Gabi Debreczeni-Raskó, and Barnabás Debreczeni from Mr. Coin, the first crypto exchange in Hungary, András from Kripto Akadémia and Kornél Kalocsai, President of the Blockchain Hungary Association.
According to their plan, the general human-height sculpture will be made of aluminum bronze. Its sculptors are Réka Gergely and Tamás Gilly. They will make a “general human figure” without particular gender, with a symbolic nose and lips. Satoshi will wear a hoodie and will have a Bitcoin logo on its chest.
Anyone who faces the statue will be able to see themselves in the face, signifying the fact that Satoshi’s identity is not relevant and we all can become Satoshi by building technology, community, or merely using Bitcoin. It will be exhibited in Graphisoft Park, Budapest, next to the statue of Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple.
The Satoshi monument is still in the making but is expected to be finished within the next three weeks, according to Kalocsai.
“The idea popped out of András’s head earlier this year. András was reading about NFTs, about how this technology is changing the digital art market. So he started thinking: NFT, blockchain, Bitcoin, Satoshi, why doesn’t Satoshi have a statue?” he said.
The founders chipped in USD 6,000 for the project. The team also managed to raise an additional USD 11,000 as a part of a community donation campaign. According to Koloscai, the sculpture will serve as a tribute to the paradigm shift caused by blockchain technology.
“The Blockchain Hungary Association considered it important to support the creation of the sculpture because the technology described in the Bitcoin Whitepaper will bring a paradigm shift in our daily lives: it allows the digitization of values and their free flow. Even central banks today are thinking about issuing digital money, thanks to the visibility and technological background of bitcoin,” he said.
Koloscai added that by now, most Hungarians have likely heard about Bitcoin, but not many people understand its implications. According to him, continuing to educate people about the importance of cryptocurrencies and blockchain is key:
“We hope that the Satoshi statue will raise awareness. We want people to know that this is a very important new economic phenomena, it will change the basics of economic processes in the future.”
Meanwhile, in May, Hungary also made headlines when the government of the country said it plans to cut the tax on crypto earnings by 50% in an effort to encourage investors to declare income from trading crypto assets. If approved, the rate on such earnings would drop to 15% from 30.5% starting in 2022, which would bring it in line with capital gains levies on stocks.
(Photo : Medium)
