Why Someone Put a Giant, Inflatable Bitcoin Rat on Wall Street (fortune.com)

There's now a giant, inflatable rat covered in crypto code across from the Federal Reserve. An anonymous reader quotes Fortune: The bitcoin rat, first noted on Reddit, was created by Nelson Saiers, an artist and former hedge fund manager, according to Coindesk. The art installation, which appeared earlier this week and is temporary, is intended as much as a tribute to bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto as much as it is a condemnation of the Fed and critics of cryptocurrencies. "The sculpture's supposed to kind of reflect the spirit of Satoshi and what he's trying to do," Saiers told Coindesk, who noted the rat image was inspired in part by another titan of traditional finance. "Warren Buffett called bitcoin 'rat poison squared' but if the Fed's a rat, then maybe rat poison is a good thing," he said... "This is a very iconic image for protest," Saiers told blockchain news site Breaker. "Somewhere in the heart of bitcoin is a bit of protest of big bank bailouts."

That idea appeared to be lost on some Redditors, who claimed they spotted the bitcoin rat in the wilds of Wall Street but didn't immediately see its significance. "I walked past it today," one wrote. "Had no idea it was about Bitcoin."

"It's cool, but people walking by won't understand it," said another. "I don't even understand it. Needs a BTC logo or something."

Comments

Good Rats

[bobstreo]

"Tasty, Tasty - Ain't it time we mellow out"

Temporary...

[Cmdln Daco]

...just like bitcoin itself.

Investments aren't statements

[Actually, I do RTFA]

"Somewhere in the heart of bitcoin is a bit of protest of big bank bailouts."

You don't "protest big bank bailouts" by losing your life savings. Investments are designed to return a profit. If you are making a statement, it's a charitable donation or something similar. See also, shorting Tesla is about "is Tesla a well run and properly priced company", not "do I like electric cars/ICEs/Musk and/or think that Tesla makes a good car."

Re:Investments aren't statements

[Hognoxious]

You used the S -word and the T-word.

Everyone into the air reid shelters!

Re:Do we even need a "Why"?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

"What happens now?"

"Well, now, uh, Lancelot, Galahad and I, uh, wait until nightfall, and then leap out of the rat, taking Wall Street, uh, by surprise. Not only by surprise, but totally alarmed!"

"*Who* leaps out?"

"Oh... um, look, if we built this large Bitcoin Badger...."

So you replaced bankers' greed with operator greed

[ttmarket]

re: '"Somewhere in the heart of bitcoin is a bit of protest of big bank bailouts."' Somewhere in the heart of bitcoin is a lot of greed, by the exchange, the miners, the hardware sellers and the brokers. So you have just exchanged greedy bankers with greedy operators.

I wish

[jwymanm]

I wish people around here (/.) could understand the movement. It's larger than just PoW mining. There are a lot of better coins than bitcoin that are pushing the boundaries of financial meets OSS tech. It's surprising there are so many critics these days just because it involves financial matters. It's almost all opensource and it's a huge movement for freedom from oppression across the entire world. It's not just currency. There are meetups everywhere on it that are full of people every day. Just reach out and stop being total assholes.

Re:I wish

[hackertourist]

There are so many critics these days because most new coins (and there are hundreds of them) are no more than a pump-and-dump scheme. Let's face it: any innovation is being snowed under by case after case of financial malfeasance.
The influx of speculators also means digital coins are far too volatile for everyday use, which means these coins only get used for shady purposes: money laundering, purchase of illegal goods and other transactions you want to be difficult to trace.
Most people see the state controlling the value of money as a good thing, because this generates stability. Only when a state allows huge inflation do you go looking for an alternative.

The rat of Wall Street

[UnixUnix]

Better than wolf, you say? I don't know, where is Margot Robbie.

Or maybe...

[mark_reh]

it symbolizes the rats deserting the sinking ship that is bitcoin.

Re:Congress is to blame

[mark_reh]

Satoshi, is that you?

Re:So you replaced bankers' greed with operator gr

[BeerMilkshake]

Of course greedy speculators are trying to take advantage of cryptos. It's an open and free market after all. Without speculators, there would be no interest, no markets and no adoption.

People need a reason to use cryptos. Speculating is one of the primary reasons. Without a reason then fiat always wins because even the simplest person can use it.

The big difference between cryptos and banking is freedom of choice. You can choose to speculate on bitcoin, or not. You can choose to use it, or not. Choose to mine it, or not. And you can change your mind at any time.

Greedy bankers, on the other hand, have a legislated monopoly enforced by the barrel of a gun. Bankers and their masters have the ability to do whatever they want with the products of your labor. They can inflate the money supply and force you into poverty. They decide what you pay in interest. They bribe politicians to get laws in their favor. They make reckless investments and their losses are covered by your tax dollars.

Choose which system you want.

Ok, then: RatCoin

[cellocgw]

Name of my new cryptocurrency startup.

Or maybe just the name of my new Alt-Rock band.