Written by: Bright, Foresight News
On August 3, Bitcoin News reported that the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Lugano, Switzerland, was stolen, and the planner Satoshigallery was willing to offer a reward of 0.1 BTC for the stolen statue. This immediately drew attention from the crypto industry.
This is truly bizarre, after all, whether Satoshi Nakamoto really exists is uncertain; who would vandalize a symbol that still lacks a substantial figure to correspond to?
At the beginning, user @Grittoshi was the first to report this theft, leaving only two holes on the metal pedestal where the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto originally stood. He suspects that someone threw the sculpture into the lake next to it.
Subsequently, the planner of the Satoshi Nakamoto sculpture, Satoshigallery, posted on X: 'We will reward 0.1 Bitcoin to anyone who can help us recover the Satoshi Nakamoto 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 statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Tokyo, Japan. Besides the statue stolen in Lugano, another statue of Satoshi Nakamoto stands on the beach in 'Bitcoin Country,' El Salvador.
Tokyo, Japan
El Salvador, Bitcoin Beach
Fortunately, within a day, the Lugano city government recovered the missing Satoshi Nakamoto statue from the nearby lake. Satoshigallery posted on the X platform stating that the Satoshi sculpture had been found and expressed gratitude to the Lugano city government.
'The vanished Satoshi' statue has disappeared, which is a metaphorical irony.
On October 25, 2024, the city of Lugano in Switzerland unveiled a statue commemorating the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, in Ciani Park (Villa Ciani). The event was hosted by the Plan B initiative, a collaboration between Tether and the city of Lugano. At that time, Tether, located in Switzerland, and Lugano were working together to transform the city into a global Bitcoin hub.
This stolen modern-style statue was designed by Italian artist Valentina Picozzi, the head of Satoshigallery, taking 18 months for research and design and 3 months to build. The statue is made of vertical stainless steel and weathering steel layers, and when viewed from specific angles, its face seems to vanish or even disappear. This illusion symbolizes the anonymous origins of Bitcoin and the universal identity of Satoshi Nakamoto.
Immediately, a group of residents from Lugano launched a public petition on Change.org. The petition requests logistical and security support from the city government to restore this artwork. The artist has pledged to reconstruct it at their own expense and provide related services. Satoshigallery has also expressed willingness to create and donate a new copy at their own expense. They declared, 'We must protect the symbol of innovation and freedom.'
'This piece represents more than just a statue,' said Luca Esposito, a spokesperson for the petitioning organization, which also organized 'Satoshi Spritz Lugano' — a public Bitcoin information event. 'We are not asking the city government for any financial support,' emphasized Luca Esposito, 'we only promise to provide logistical support for the restoration work and to collaborate with the artist to find a suitable, permanent, and safe location.' Reportedly, 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, values deeply rooted in Swiss traditional principles, not just technological innovation.'