Stolen Satoshi statue recovered in shambles, what really happened?

The statue of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto was recently the victim of vandalism, stolen, shattered, and drowned for reasons unknown.

Summary

• One of the three life-sized statues symbolizing Bitcoin’s anonymous founder Satoshi Nakamoto was recently stolen and vandalized in Lugano, Switzerland.
• A local witness has pointed to possible suspects behind the act.
• The Bitcoin community has widely condemned the attack on the statue.

Satoshi disappears, again

On August 3, 2025, Satoshigallery, the creators of the Satoshi Nakamoto statue, revealed that the symbol had been stolen from its location in Lugano, Switzerland. Unveiled last year, the statue is a life-sized black steel figure in a hoodie with folded legs, designed with a fading, fragmented effect to reflect the anonymity of the Bitcoin (BTC) creator.

The statue was completely removed from its base, leaving behind only the two feet it was once bolted to. Details of the theft were scarce, but the team offered a 0.1 BTC bounty to ensure a quick recovery of the missing iconic statue. 

“We are offering 0.1 btc to whoever will help us recover the Statue of Satoshi Nakamoto that was stolen yesterday in Lugano,” shared the team in an X post. 

Hours later on the same day, the team reported that the Satoshi statue had been recovered after it was found dumped in a nearby lake. But it wasn’t in one piece. The statue had been broken apart, suggesting it was vandalized by those who took it.

Who stole the Satoshi statue?

The Satoshigallery, in its update, thanked the city of Lugano for helping recover the statue but kept the details of what happened under wraps.

However, one X user, Gritto, offered more insight into what may have happened. According to him, a group of drunk youngsters was seen celebrating near the statue late on August 1st, Swiss National Day. He said the area was packed with activity, especially around an open-air café next to the statue.

Gritto claims to have been at the park that night and noted that the statue was still standing at the time. In his words, the group of partygoers, intoxicated and possibly looking to stir up some mischief, may have targeted the statue in their drunken antics. 

Given that it was welded at just two points, they could have easily pried it loose and thrown it into the lake, likely because they couldn’t carry it any farther without risking being caught, considering its weight and the security around the area.

News of the saga quickly spread across the community, and many did not take the incident lightly. 

Bitcoin community riled

One Bitcoiner, Morfeo, called the act “an absolute disgrace” on X, echoing the wider disappointment over the damage done to the symbolic statue. Former VanEck executive Gabor Gurbacs also condemned the theft and vandalism as “tasteless,” calling for legal action to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino joined the discussion, celebrating the recovery after advocating for a quick recovery in an earlier post following news of its disappearance. 

However, the Satoshigallery has yet to confirm who was behind the act or why it happened, and it remains to be seen whether legal action will follow. The Satoshi Nakamoto statue is one of only three, with the two others situated in Tokyo and El Salvador, and a petition is now up calling for the damaged one to be restored.