A statue of Satoshi Nakamoto has appeared at the New York Stock Exchange, seemingly signifying a historic reconciliation between traditional finance and the crypto world. Is this a “capture” ceremony, or a fusion of ideas?
(Background: 17th Anniversary of the Bitcoin Whitepaper Release: Satoshi Nakamoto’s Dream of Decentralization Being Redefined by Power)
(Additional context: Bitcoin liquidity has been reshaped—old metrics are failing, and the market needs new perspectives)

Table of Contents

• Wall Street’s embrace has never been free
• From junk bonds and the WWW bubble to the Satoshi Nakamoto statue
• Who merged with whom? What are the game rules?
• The idol is dead, but the game is not over

Funded by Bitcoin reserves company 21 Capital (XXI), the statue of Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, symbolizing the spirit of anonymity and decentralization, is now placed at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

“Satoshi Nakamoto”
Valentina Picozzi – @satoshigallery

Twenty One Capital places a statue of Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor of bitcoin, in NYSE. Its new home marks a shared ground between emerging systems and established institutions. From code to culture, the placement… pic.twitter.com/sTiNq3h5HY

— NYSE 🏛 (@NYSE) December 10, 2025

The symbolism of Bitcoin as a “decentralized financial system” entering the heart of global capitalism is the official stance of NYSE—calling this a “shared space” between emerging systems and mature institutions. This scene is filled with dramatic tension, contrasting sharply with Wall Street’s attitude a few years ago, which viewed cryptocurrencies as a flood of monsters, almost like a parallel universe.

Many interpret this as a historic handshake—traditional finance (TradFi) recognizing the crypto world. But to veterans immersed in crypto for over a decade, this may be more like a carefully planned “capture” ceremony. The victory sign behind this monument isn’t Nakamoto’s ideology, but Wall Street itself.

Wall Street’s embrace has never been free

On-chain data tells no lies, and Twitter is always performing. To understand the true significance of this statue, we must look at the flow of funds. By the end of 2025, Bitcoin spot ETFs led by BlackRock and Fidelity had absorbed nearly 13,600 BTC, representing 6.9% of the total circulating supply, with assets under management (AUM) reaching $168 billion.

Among them, BlackRock’s iBIT alone holds about 770,000 BTC. Behind these figures is a clear on-chain footprint: Bitcoin ownership is massively shifting from individual wallets to custodial addresses controlled by Wall Street giants.

This is not the peer-to-peer electronic cash system envisioned by Nakamoto, but a re-centralization of assets. Retail and institutional investors are not buying Bitcoin itself but a set of codes (tickers) within traditional brokerage accounts. Ownership, clearing, and settlement depend entirely on old financial infrastructure.

This isn’t the fusion envisioned by early ideologues; it’s the domestication of disruptive assets into tradable securities (or assets) within the traditional system. Meanwhile, Bitcoin futures open interest on CME has reached $20.6 billion, accounting for 30% of the global market.

Institutions are skillfully employing basis trading—using spot ETFs plus futures short positions—to lock in riskless profits. They’re not believing in a revolution; they’re executing old-fashioned arbitrage strategies. This statue, rather than a tribute, is more like a celebration banquet for TradFi’s successful commodification and “tooling” of Bitcoin assets.

From junk bonds, WWW bubble to the Satoshi Nakamoto statue

Wall Street’s history is a continual process of absorbing, domestically controlling, and ultimately dominating emerging assets. We’ve seen this script too many times.

In the 1980s, high-yield “junk” bonds, under Wall Street’s packaging, became powerful leverage for buyouts and were eventually incorporated into mainstream fixed income portfolios.

In the late 1990s, the dot-com bubble fueled countless tech IPOs. Although the bubble burst, Wall Street gained control over tech asset pricing.

Cryptocurrencies are following the same path—initial suspicion and rejection giving way to acceptance, followed by massive product innovations (like ETFs, futures, structured products), and finally the establishment of regulatory frameworks in the US.

The attitude shift of giants like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon and BlackRock’s Larry Fink isn’t because they suddenly realized the greatness of decentralization, but because they see the enormous potential of integrating blockchain technology and asset tokenization into the existing financial landscape.

History shows Wall Street never fears disruptors; it only fears losing profits from them. Once it finds a way to commodify disruptive forces, it embraces them wholeheartedly—and builds statues in their honor.

The statue of Nakamoto, like the framed prospectus of junk bonds in the past, symbolizes how once heretical ideas have been officially incorporated into order.

Who merged with whom? What are the game rules?

The most alluring yet dangerous narrative in the market is packaging unequal power into a “fusion” that appears equal.

NY Stock Exchange claims Nakamoto is a “shared space,” but we must ask a fundamental question: who defines the rules of this shared space?

The answer is the SEC, NYSE, and giants like BlackRock—“mature institutions.” The crypto world did not bring decentralized governance (DAO) into NYSE; instead, NYSE has used its century-old listing rules, trading mechanisms, and regulatory framework to create a compliant “cage” tailored for Bitcoin.

This statue is allowed into Wall Street’s hall of fame on the condition that the assets it represents are stripped of their most threatening political connotations: challenging fiat currency systems and centralized intermediaries.

Larry Fink publicly admits he was wrong about Bitcoin, but what he truly embraces is the narrative of “asset tokenization,” which could bring BlackRock a next trillion-dollar market, rather than an unstoppable, unfreezable global currency system.

This is not a mutual pursuit; it’s like moths flying into the flame. There are two groups of viewers of Nakamoto’s statue: one is the crypto community, which says “We recognize you”; the other is traditional investors, who say “This has been tamed; it’s safe to invest.” This is a very deep level of narrative manipulation.

The idol is dead, but the game is not over

“All of us are Nakamoto”—the act of concretizing the anonymous, anti-heroic Nakamoto into a physical statue and placing it at the temple of centralized finance is the deepest alienation of its original spirit. It may be a “Trojan horse” for operators like 21 Capital, aiming to implant change from within the traditional order.

Nakamoto’s greatness lies precisely in his absence. His anonymity ensures Bitcoin has no single point of failure, no leader who can be pressured or arrested. Now, Wall Street has its “non-existent idol,” a symbol that can be observed, defined, and commodified.

The era of Bitcoin’s innocence as a tech and political movement has ended. It has officially entered the “accelerated maturity stage” of macro financial assets. Does this mean the complete failure of decentralization? Not necessarily. Wall Street can capture Bitcoin as an asset but cannot co-opt its open-source protocol and cryptographic philosophy, nor extend the political economy views embedded within.

When institutional funds and narratives focus solely on ETFs, true alpha might be happening in overlooked corners—those new protocols focused on enhancing privacy, scalability, and resistance to censorship still survive and thrive; developers quietly building the next-generation decentralized infrastructure.

For seasoned investors, this statue is a clear market signal—an apex of a cycle, often beginning with the full embrace by old powers. Genuine smart money won’t pilgrimage to the statue; they turn off the news and open anonymous chatrooms.

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Tags: Nakamoto, traditional finance, cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, NYSE