The world’s first statue of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto was unveiled in Graphisoft Park, in Budapest, Hungary.

At 6 pm CET on Sept 16, the collaborating partners behind the statue unveiled the bust in the office park. Since Nakamoto has never revealed himself and is likely a pseudonym, the creators chose to represent the figure as being anonymous. Symbolically, the statue’s face features a reflective surface, so onlookers can see themselves as Nakamoto.

Location of significance

The unveiling was preceded by a few words from the collaborating partners on the project. András Györfi, an editor at Hungarian crypto portal Kripto Akadémia, was responsible for the original idea and led the project. He spoke first about the significance of the statue being located in Graphisoft Park. The park hosts a number of tech-inspired sculptures, including a piece by Ernő Rubik, famed for his cube, and a statue of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

However, the park also includes memorials to other figures some would think unrelated. But Györfi sees a relation between them all, as those who strove to improve the world through developing unconventional ideas. “The creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto fits in the group of people perfectly,” he said. János Kocsány, the CEO of Graphisoft Park, also highlighted that this had been the largest gathering for a statue unveiling in the park’s history.

Conceiving the Satoshi statue

Earlier this summer, BeinCrypto spoke to Györfi about his creation and its upcoming unveiling. Györfi conceived of the statue after being inspired by blockchain’s significance and the artistic qualities of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Although a physical manifestation of something inherently digital, Györfi felt that physical things have more significance in an increasingly digital world.

To get his initial idea off the ground, Györfi collaborated with several Hungarian cryptocurrency organizations, including blockchain conference Blockchain Budapest, crypto exchange Mr. Coin, and crypto association Blockchain Hungary. The collaborators raised money via a crowdsourcing campaign, through which the statue was funded exclusively with Bitcoin and Binance Coin. Hungarian sculptors Réka Gergely and Tamás Gilly then created the bust over the summer. The statue is predominantly bronze, but the face features an aluminum composite, which gives it its reflective quality.