Bitcoin 'father' statue vandalized

The statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Lugano was stolen and thrown into a lake after the Swiss National Day festival, shocking the global cryptocurrency community.

Statue of Satoshi Nakamoto at Parco Ciani park. Photo: Bit2Me News.

A life-size statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious founder of Bitcoin, was stolen from the Parco Ciani park in Lugano, Switzerland, and was later found in a damaged state in a nearby lake.

The information was shared by user X named Gritto on the morning of August 2. According to this person, he visited Parco Ciani park on the evening of August 1, on the occasion of Swiss National Day, and confirmed that the statue was still intact at that time.

“The park was very crowded, and the surrounding cafes were full,” Gritto wrote, suggesting that the incident may have occurred later that night, as crowds were leaving the festival.

The theory is that a group of overexcited or drunken people “had too much fun” after the festival, leading to the vandalism. Photos posted by Gritto show the base of the statue still attached to its pedestal, along with a metal plaque engraved with the words Satoshi Nakamoto and the name of the artist who created it, Valentina Picozzi.

Following the incident, the Satoshigallery organization, founded by Picozzi himself, confirmed the incident and announced a reward of 0.1 BTC for anyone who provides information that helps find the statue or the perpetrator of the vandalism. At the same time, they also affirmed that their plans to continue installing works honoring Satoshi Nakamoto at 21 locations around the world will not be interrupted.

Not long after, some social media users said they discovered the remains of the statue under a lake near the park, in a state of severe damage and with unknown recovery possibilities.

The work in Lugano is part of a series of art projects by Satoshigallery in honor of the Bitcoin founder. Placing the statue in Switzerland, a country considered to be friendly to cryptocurrencies, is highly symbolic. Lugano is one of the leading cities in Europe in adopting and integrating blockchain technology into urban life, including fair payments in cryptocurrencies and hosting an annual Bitcoin conference.

The vandalism, however, has raised questions about public safety, as well as how localities should protect iconic and sentimental structures for the tech community.

Currently, Lugano city authorities have not made any official response, while the international cryptocurrency community continues to closely monitor the developments of the incident.

Source: https://znews.vn/tuong-cha-de-bitcoin-bi-pha-hoai-post1574075.html