Hungary: statue in honor of the mysterious founder of Bitcoin unveiled

Hungary: statue in honor of Bitcoin's mysterious founder unveiled - b3afc8095a7f442da0c3896aebd7b503An imposing bronze statue was unveiled in the Hungarian capital last Thursday which, according to its creators, is the first in the world to pay homage to the anonymous creator of digital currency: Bitcoin.

Does Satoshi Nakamoto finally have a face?

Erected in a business park near the Danube River in Budapest, the bust sits atop a stone pedestal engraved with the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the mysterious Bitcoin developer whose true identity is unknown.

"We think of Satoshi as the founding father of the entire cryptocurrency industry," said Andras Gyorfi, a Bitcoin reporter and initiator of the project. "He created Bitcoin, he created blockchain technology, he is the god of our market."

The torso's anonymous face, wrapped in a bronze-colored hoodie with the Bitcoin logo, is heavily polished to make it reflective like a mirror in which viewers can see themselves.

Its creators, sculptors Reka Gergely and Tamas Gilly, sought to portray a human form while remaining true to Nakamoto's anonymity.

“It was a great challenge. It's very difficult to make a sculpted portrait of a person who we don't know exactly what he looks like, ”Gilly told The Associated Press. "I hope that through the language of sculpture I was able to convey the basic idea of ​​Bitcoin, which belongs to everyone and nobody at the same time."

The story of the world's first digital currency

Bitcoin was created in 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis and aimed to evade traditional financial institutions by developing secure technology for peer-to-peer online transactions without using intermediaries such as banks.

Its founding white paper published that year was written by Nakamoto, a pseudonym that could refer to a person or group of people of unknown gender, age, or national origin.

The organizers of the statue project invited Nakamoto to the presentation, Gyorfi said, in hopes of finally knowing the true identity of the inventor of Bitcoin.

But although the event attracted several hundred people, no one came forward to claim responsibility for the development of the cryptocurrency which attracted tens of millions of investors and was adopted this month as legal tender in El Salvador.

A contradiction

Gyorfi said the statue is a sign of respect for Nakamoto and an effort to "raise awareness of blockchain and cryptocurrencies".

Together with other Hungarian Bitcoin enthusiasts, he raised around $ 10.000 in cryptocurrency donations to fund the creation of the bust.

But this had to be converted into Hungarian currency, he said, because "unfortunately, sculptors and other service providers still don't accept Bitcoin."

However, our readers can already buy and sell Bitcoin thanks to platforms such as Bitcoin Revolution which helps novice traders to enter this world with very little investment.