Bronze Statue Honoring Bitcoin Founder Unveiled in Hungary

An imposing bronze statue has been unveiled in Hungary's capital which its creators say is the first in the world to pay homage to the anonymous creator of the Bitcoin digital currency.

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

Members of the blockchain network believe that Satoshi is the founding father of the whole cryptocurrency industry.

"He created Bitcoin, he created the blockchain technology, he's the god of our market" says Andras Gyorfi, a Bitcoin journalist and the initiator of the project.

The bust, a featureless face wearing a hoodie emblazoned 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 staying true to the anonymity of Nakamoto.

The creation of a faceless person was a big challenge for the artists as it was difficult to make a portrait sculpture of a person that we don't know exactly what he or she looks like.

"I hope that through the language of sculpture I have managed to convey the basic idea of Bitcoin, that it belongs to everyone and no one at the same time" says Gilly.

Bitcoin was created in 2008 following the global financial crisis, and aimed to circumvent traditional financial institutions by developing secure technology for peer-to-peer online transactions without using intermediaries like banks.

Its founding white paper published that year was authored by Nakamoto — a name which could refer to a person or group of people of unknown gender or national origin.

The organizers of the statue project invited Nakamoto to the unveiling, Gyorfi says, in the hopes of finally learning the true identity of the inventor of Bitcoin.

But at the unveiling, which attracted several hundred people, none come forward to claim responsibility for developing the cryptocurrency that has attracted tens of millions of investors and was adopted this month as legal currency in El Salvador.

Gyorfi says the statue is a token of respect to Nakamoto, and an effort to "raise awareness toward blockchain and cryptocurrencies."

Along with other Hungarian Bitcoin enthusiasts, he collected around $10,000 (US dollars) in cryptocurrency donations to finance the creation of the bust.

But that had to be converted into Hungarian currency, he said, because "unfortunately the sculptors and other service providers didn't accept Bitcoin, yet."

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained

Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.

To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.

Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake

Connect with us on…

Breaking News on YouTube