The landmark comment from Satoshi Nakamoto on the 15th anniversary of Bitcoin: "The absence of Bitcoin would equate to a pointless loss."
In a significant reminder of Bitcoin's early days, the first Satoshi Nakamoto statue in the world, located in Switzerland, has been vandalized. The statue, which was found in Lake Ceresio, was torn off its base and thrown into the water.
The statue, a symbol of Bitcoin's historical significance, was initiated by a local community of Bitcoin enthusiasts. It was exactly 15 years ago that Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, made an important statement about the future of Bitcoin and crypto exchanges.
On August 7, 2010, Nakamoto wrote on a Bitcoin forum, "The utility of the exchange made possible by Bitcoin will far exceed the cost of electricity used. Therefore, not having Bitcoin would be net waste." At the time, Bitcoin was worth about $0.07 and mining was simple enough to be done on a desktop computer. Since then, Bitcoin's price has surged above $116,000, and the cryptocurrency ecosystem has grown into a $2.3 trillion industry, validating Nakamoto's early vision that the long-term benefits and utility of Bitcoin far surpass the initial operational costs like electricity.
Nakamoto also predicted the creation of various electronic platforms for trading Bitcoin and crypto exchanges. According to him, the utility of these trading platforms would be much higher than the electricity used to run them. This prediction remains key in the crypto community's understanding of Bitcoin’s value proposition—that beyond the mining costs, the intrinsic utility and economic impact of Bitcoin exchanges justify the energy used to secure the network.
Crypto advocate Samson Mow has shared a link to a petition initiated by the local community of Bitcoiners, urging the restoration of the statue. The petition, hosted on Change.org, asks for the new statue to be exhibited safely. Crypto analytics account Crypto Rand has also issued a reminder to the global crypto community about Nakamoto's statement.
The original sculptor, Valentina Picozzi, has offered to restore the statue at her own expense. However, no further information about the timeline for the restoration has been provided. Despite the vandalism, the Satoshi Nakamoto statue stands as a testament to the resilience and enduring impact of Bitcoin and the crypto community.
[1] https://bitcoin.org/en/2009-01-03-bitcoin-paper [2] https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-10-years-history-in-charts [3] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/03/bitcoin-celebrates-12-years-of-existence.html [4] https://www.wsj.com/articles/bitcoin-celebrates-12-years-of-existence-11609678013
- The Bitcoin community in Switzerland initiated a statue, symbolizing Bitcoin's historical significance, to commemorate the anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Nakamoto, in a statement made on a Bitcoin forum on August 7, 2010, predicted the utility of trading platforms like crypto exchanges would surpass the cost of electricity, a prediction that still holds relevance in the crypto community's understanding of Bitcoin's value proposition.
- Crypto advocate Samson Mow and crypto analytics account Crypto Rand have sharedLinks to a petition and a reminder, respectively, about the vandalized Satoshi Nakamoto statue and Nakamoto's statement.
- The original sculptor, Valentina Picozzi, has offered to restore the statue at her own expense, but no further information regarding the timeline for the restoration has been provided.
