Miami Bitcoin Conference Erects Robot Bull Statue With Laser Eyes
Miami mayor Francis Suarez says the “Bitcoin Bull” marks Miami’s status as the “crypto capital of the world.”
Wall Street’s famous Charging Bull statue has been futuristically reimagined with a robotic exoskeleton and laser eyes to kick off day one of the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami.
Miami Mayor and avowed crypto advocate Francis Suarez unveiled the 11-foot long, 3,000-pound monument in front of the event’s hub at the Miami Beach Convention Center, calling it a “symbolic and powerful addition” celebrating his city as the leader in the “future of finance.”
Over 30 people spent half a year to complete the robotic bull, Vice reports. Design was headed by artist Furio Tedeschi, who developed concept art for the Transformers movie franchise, while an entertainment studio attached to Batman vs. Superman, Gremlins 2 and a Bill & Ted installment.
The statue was commissioned by Florida-based crypto trading platform TradeStation. CEO John Bartleman told Vice’s Motherboard that the beastly bitcoin bull’s presence marks Miami’s status as the “crypto capital of the world.”
“The one thing we saw is that we’re really missing a symbol, something that the community here can really rally around,” Bartleman said.
“This is something we knew would really resonate around the world,” Bartleman said. “We really want this to become the most famous, iconic statue in the world.”
As for Suarez, he’s not just following trends to gain clout. The bitcoin believer has launched a MiamiCoin token that generated millions in revenue, and he supports the notion of residents paying taxes in crypto.
Many early headlines from Bitcoin 2022 have focused on a speech by Peter Thiel. The multibillionaire venture capitalist behind PayPal trashed fiat currencies as he threw a wad of $100 bills into the crowd.
“Even being in a stock, you’re effectively being in something that’s like a government-linked entity,” he said, per Fox Business.
“Companies — woke companies — are sort of quasi-controlled by the government in a way that Bitcoin never will be.”