- The Swiss city of Lugano unveiled a statue honoring the pseudonymous Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto
- The statue was a collaboration between the City of Lugano, Plan B network, and Tether
- Lugano has been embracing cryptocurrencies, having adopted Bitcoin, USDT, and its own token LVGA as legal tender in March 2022
The city of Lugano in Switzerland has unveiled a new statue honoring the elusive creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto. While Nakamoto’s true identity remains unknown, this monument symbolizes the profound impact this mysterious figure has had on the evolution of digital currency.
The Making of the Statue
The statue was created through a collaboration between the city of Lugano, the stablecoin company Tether, and the cryptocurrency advocacy group Plan B. It depicts a hooded figure hunched over a computer, representing Nakamoto’s anonymity. The striking monument was unveiled last week during Plan B’s 2024 Lugano conference.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, stated that the statue honors Nakamoto’s contribution to the global financial system. By publishing the Bitcoin whitepaper and launching the network anonymously, Nakamoto ensured that Bitcoin would belong to the people rather than a single entity.
Lugano’s Embrace of Crypto
The unveiling of the Nakamoto statue underscores the city of Lugano’s enthusiastic adoption of cryptocurrency. Lugano began accepting Bitcoin, Tether’s USDT stablecoin, and its own LVGA token as legal tender in March 2022. The city also started collecting taxes and fees in Bitcoin and USDT in late 2023.
Lugano now stands with El Salvador as one of the only jurisdictions in the world to grant cryptocurrency an official status on par with fiat money. The Nakamoto monument reinforces Lugano’s position as a hub for blockchain innovation.
Looking to the Future
While Nakamoto’s identity remains unknown, the principles outlined in the Bitcoin whitepaper continue to drive development and adoption of cryptocurrency worldwide. Both the anonymity of its creator and the leaderless nature of Bitcoin ensure that it truly belongs to everyone. The new monument in Lugano celebrates Nakamoto’s legacy and the transformative potential of the technology he introduced.
