Crypto has officially walked onto Wall Street.
A Satoshi Nakamoto statue, crafted by artist Valentina Picozzi, now stands at the New York Stock Exchange, marking a striking intersection of cryptocurrency and traditional finance. This installation is the sixth in Picozzi’s “disappearing” statue series, with previous placements in Switzerland, El Salvador, Japan, Vietnam, and Miami.
The NYSE called the work a “shared ground between emerging systems and established institutions”, highlighting Bitcoin’s growing influence on mainstream markets. The installation was arranged by Twenty One Capital, a Bitcoin firm that just began trading this week, signaling a deeper embrace of crypto by conventional finance players.
BREAKING: FORNELLI, ITALY, UNVEILS NEWEST STATUE OF #BITCOIN CREATOR SATOSHI NAKAMOTO
— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) May 1, 2025
BEAUTIFUL 🧡 pic.twitter.com/5XHuitLq3i
For Picozzi, the moment is monumental.
She described seeing her statue at the NYSE as mind blowing, exceeding all expectations. Her plan is ambitious: 21 statues worldwide, reflecting Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins and the global reach of the network.
The unveiling also carries historical weight.
The installation coincides with the anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin mailing list from December 10, 2008. Nakamoto mined the genesis block on January 3, 2009, creating the first 50 Bitcoin and laying the foundation for the cryptocurrency industry. The first documented Bitcoin purchase occurred on May 22, 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, an iconic moment that illustrates crypto’s journey from niche experiment to multi trillion-dollar asset class.
Wall Street’s skepticism has gradually transformed into participation.
Institutional attitudes shifted as early critics embraced the technology. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink is among those who went from caution to actively investing in crypto through ETFs and treasury holdings. Today, public and private companies, countries, and ETFs collectively hold over 3.7 million Bitcoin, worth more than $336 billion, according to Bitbo. This accumulation underscores Bitcoin’s growing legitimacy among traditional finance institutions.
Picozzi’s design carries layered symbolism.
The statue depicts a hacker in a classic laptop pose, honoring the developers and programmers who built the blockchain ecosystem. Its disappearing effect represents Nakamoto’s presence embedded within Bitcoin’s code, enabling the first decentralized payment system while maintaining anonymity.
The NYSE statue is more than art. It is a marker of crypto’s journey from fringe experiment to a recognized pillar of global finance.
