A statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, was recovered on Saturday from Lake Lugano in Switzerland after being reported stolen. Municipality of Lugano’s workers found the artwork in multiple broken pieces, pointing to vandalism rather than theft.
The statue was originally installed in Parco Ciani, a popular lakeside park in the city of Lugano, by the Satoshigallery art collective. Created by Italian artist and Bitcoin advocate Valentina Picozzi, the piece was unveiled in October 2024 and had quickly become a cultural symbol for the global crypto community. It took 21 months to plan and build the statue.
Authorities said the vandals removed the statue from its base and dumped it in the lake. Only the feet, welded at two points, remained attached. Satoshigallery had offered a reward of 0.1 BTC (over $11,000) for its recovery of the statue. The collective has yet to comment publicly, but earlier posts confirm their intent to install 21 similar statues worldwide.
Bitcoin Community Reacts on X
The crypto community expressed anger and disbelief on X. “Such a tasteless and stupid thing to do. Hope they find who did it,” wrote Gabor Gurbacs, Founder of blockchain rewards platform Pointsville. Bitcoin advocate Gritto speculated drunk partygoers celebrating Swiss National Day may have caused the damage.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino responded to the statue being retrieved with a heart emoji. Satoshigallery also posted, “You can steal our symbol, but never our souls.”
Also Read: Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Becomes 11th Richest in the World
