This archive report was first published on 16 September 2021.
On a chilly day in Budapest, a bronze bust of Satoshi Nakamoto, the enigmatic creator of Bitcoin, was unveiled in a business park, joining a statue of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and an installation by Hungarian inventor Ernő Rubik.
The sculpture, a brainchild of entrepreneur and Bitcoin journalist Andras Gyorfi, was financed by four Hungarian cryptocurrency organizations.
According to Gyorfi, the idea for the statue was born out of his research on the connection between digital art and blockchain technology. 'Why shouldn't Satoshi have a statue in Budapest?' he mused.
To reflect the mystery surrounding Nakamoto's true identity, sculptors Tamas Gilly and Reka Gergely designed the face as a mirror, allowing anyone to see themselves in the figure.
As the world grapples with the implications of Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency has come a long way since its inception in 2009. With over 18.8 million units in circulation, Bitcoin has gained traction among investors, including those on Wall Street and Tesla's Elon Musk.
On October 31, 2008, Nakamoto published the founding white paper, outlining the key goal of processing online payments without the need for financial institutions. The cryptocurrency has since experienced wild price swings, but its adoption continues to grow.
El Salvador recently made history by becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, a move that has sparked both excitement and concern.
