The statue of Satoshi Nakamoto stolen from Lugano was found

In a universe dominated by digital abstraction, the brutal disappearance of the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto in Lugano resonates like a symbolic shock. Erected during Plan B Forum in homage to the decentralized spirit of Bitcoin, the work was torn off, vandalized, then drafted in pieces by the lake. This artistic manifesto, which has become a target, crystallizes tensions around the crypto imagination. A bitcoin reward has been promised, a sign that the case goes beyond simple vandalism: it challenges the integrity of symbols in a faceless culture.

A shocking disappearance in the heart of Lugano

While Satoshi Nakamoto became 11^th Person richest in the world thanks to Bitcoin, its statue, unveiled in October 2024 in Lugano, will not have survived a year without incident. Installed as part of Plan B Forum, the work signed by the Italian artist Valentina Picozzi represented a faceless silhouette leaning on a computer, designed to symbolize the anonymity of the Bitcoin Creator.

On Saturday August 3, the statue was removed from its base in Ciani Park and reported as a stolen. The information was confirmed by the artistic collective Satoshigallery on the social network X: “Where's Satoshi?” You can steal our symbol, but you will never be able to steal our souls ”.

In response to this act, the collective offered a reward of 0.1 BTC, the equivalent of more than $ 11,000, to anyone who can provide useful information to recover sculpture.

The next day, Lugano's municipal services found the statue in several pieces, thrown on the bank and in the waters of the lake. Several elements make it possible to better understand the unfolding of the incident:

• The statue was only welded by two feet fixing points, which facilitated its withdrawal;

• No theft of equipment has been found, excluding for the moment a financial motivation;

• The work was damaged, but not hidden, quickly found by public services;

• The incident took place during the weekend of the Swiss National Day (1^er August), strengthening the thesis of an impulsive act, potentially committed by persons in a state of drunkenness, as assumed Gritto.

This episode shocked a community attached to its rare physical representations.

A symbolic damage to the spirit of Bitcoin

Beyond the initial shock, the recovery of the statue of Satoshi Nakamoto has in no way dissipated emotion in the crypto community. The work, emblematic of the global project of Satoshigallery aimed at installing similar statues in 21 cities around the world, is part of an artistic and militant approach.

“Lugano quickly established himself as a major pole of digital innovation”said mayor Michele Foletti during the inauguration, stressing how the statue embodied local commitment to rupture technologies. The reaction of the CEO of the Stablecoins Tether company, Paolo Ardoino, wants to be sober, but eloquent: a simple heart posted on X, as a sign of support.

The desire to destroy the physical object will not have started the symbolism it carries. On the contrary, the gesture of vandalism seems to have reinforced the unity of the community. The incident recalls that in the crypto universe, values and ideas prevail over material representations.

The parallel with the statue of Budapest, installed in 2021 with a mirror face to reflect each visitor, reinforces this idea: “We are all Satoshi”. A statue can be broken, but an idea is not so easily.

As crypto culture gains visibility, it is more exposed to misunderstandings, acts of rejection or desecration. This vandalism could be only an isolated warning, but it recalls how much the need for pedagogy, cultural dialogue and symbolic anchoring remains crucial. At a time when Bitcoin becomes an institutional asset, its symbols, they still have to prove themselves in public space.