Italian Municipality of Fornelli in the Molise Region Will Be Dedating a Monument to Pseudonymous Bitcoin (BTC) Creator Satoshi Nakamoto

In an April 23 Facebook post from the municipality, Fornelli said it plans to unveil the Satoshi artwork on May 1.

The Italian municipality of Fornelli in the Molise region will be dedicating a monument to pseudonymous Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Announcing the artwork’s planned unveiling on May 1, Fornelli said on April 23 that the artwork had been designed by artist Mattia Pannoni and financed by the municipal government.

"It is important, indeed fundamental, as an administration, to take into consideration all the new ideas that come from our young people," said Fornelli Mayor Giovanni Tedeschi.

According to the municipal government, Fornelli has the "highest density of Bitcoin adoption in the world" among its roughly 1,800 residents. Other regions have attempted to use BTC or other cryptocurrencies to attract visitors, including the Bitcoin Beach area of El Salvador and the Swiss city of Zug, which accepts crypto payments for many local goods and services.

The identity of Satoshi, whether a single individual or a group of people, remains one of the biggest mysteries in the crypto space since the publication of the Bitcoin white paper in 2008.

Many artists, both crypto investors and otherwise, have released artwork attempting to represent the pseudonymous creator through statues and digital images. A common theme in these pieces is showing Satoshi without any clearly defined facial features, sometimes wearing a hoodie or working on a computer.

According to the announcement, the monument will be unveiled in the Piazza Umberto I area of Fornelli on May 1.