Greenpeace, a well-known environmental NGO, has unveiled “Skull of Satoshi,” an art installation aimed at sparking discussion about the environmental impact of bitcoin The 11-foot skull is made from e-waste materials and depicts a chimney and the Bitcoin logo. However, creator Benjamin Von Wong explained that it was not intended as an anti-Bitcoin symbol.
Greenpeace unveils “Skull of Satoshi” art installation
On March 23, the international environmental NGO Greenpeace unveiled “Skull of Satoshi,” an 11-foot art installation designed to criticize the environmental impact of bitcoin. The piece, created by Benjamin Von Wong, includes distinctive elements to spark discussion about how destructive bitcoin mining is.
One such element is the presence of a chimney, which symbolizes the use of fossil fuels to produce energy to help operate the bitcoin network through mining. The skull also has hundreds of cables protruding from it, and the bitcoin logo is depicted in the eyes. According to Greenpeace, it was created with e-waste materials to symbolize the computers used to verify bitcoin transactions.
Greenpeace’s goal is to raise awareness about Bitcoin’s energy consumption and how changing the cryptocurrency’s code would change this. Rolf Skaarof Greenpeace explained that
Our skull design is a powerful symbol and we are urging financial institutions to use their influence to advocate for a code change that could reduce Bitcoin’s electricity usage by 99%. We cannot afford to expand our dependence on fossil fuels any further.
During this tour, Greenpeace will be calling on financial institutions that use Bitcoin to change their Bitcoin code to reduce their impact on climate change.
Benjamin Von Wong reveals his intentions
Benjamin Von Wong, creator of Skull of Satoshi, took to Twitter to voice his opinion and reveal his true intentions in creating the installation. The installation, commissioned by Greenpeace, was created with a simple idea about Bitcoin, Von Wongexplained in a Twitter thread on the 25th. He stated:
I created Skull because I believe Bitcoin Mining is a simple black and white issue. I had spent my entire career trying to reduce real physical waste, and I intuitively felt that PoW was wasteful. Of course, I was wrong.
Moreover, Fong Wong declared that the sculpture was never intended to be anti-Bitcoin, but part of an “optimistic hope that Bitcoin can break free from futile fossil burning.”
