The emblematic statue of the “disappearing” of the pseudonym creator of Bitcoin (BTC) Satoshi Nakamoto, was stolen on Saturday, was recovered, according to Satoshigallery, the artistic collective responsible for the installation of the statue.
The municipal workers of the city of Lugano, Switzerland, recovered the statue, which was thrown into Lake Lugano after being withdrawn from its base in Parco Ciani, a park on the lake in the Swiss city, by unknown.
Municipal workers discovered the statue in several pieces, indicating vandalism, rather than theft for a monetary gain. The statue was only welded at the base at two points at the feet of the statue, which remained fixed at the base.
Satoshigallery offered a reward of 0.1 BTC, valued at more than $ 11,000, for the resumption of the statue, and Cointelegraph contacted the art collective for comments but could not obtain an answer at the time of publication.
The emblematic work of art of the Italian artist and Bitcoin defender Valentina Picozzi was unveiled in October 2024 and became a flagship symbol of the Bitcoin community. The statue took 21 months to plan and build fully, according to the artist.
In relation: The creator of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto is the 11th richest person in the world
The Bitcoin community reacts to vandalism against the emblematic symbol
The Bitcoin community has expressed reactions of disgust and challenge to theft and vandalism of the statue, which has since become a symbol of the Bitcoin movement and the mysterious creator of digital currency.
“One thing so tasteless and stupid to do. I hope they will find who has done it,” wrote Gabor Gurbacs, founder and CEO of Loyalty Rewards and Tokenization Plagleville blockchain.
Others like the pseudonym defender of Bitcoin Gritto have theorized that “drunk” revelers celebrating the Swiss national day, the holidays that commemorate the founding charter of the European country, were responsible for vandalism.
The CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, reacted to the recovery of the emblematic statue with a simple cardiac emoji on social networks.
“You can steal our symbol, but you can never fly our souls,” said Satoshigallery, while reiterating the commitment of the art collective to place similar statues in 21 places around the world.
Review: Baby-boomers worth $ 79 t finally get on board with Bitcoin
