Artist hides Bitcoin Treasure at a Mural in France
Thanks to some donations, the reward for solving the riddle of the painting can rise at any time
Pascal Boyart is the name of the artist who decided to hide in his new street work a reward in 0.26 Bitcoin (BTC), equivalent to about 1000 US dollars, according to its current price. The news was announced through his blog, on January 6th.
The work is a tribute to the recent social conflicts that take place in Paris, with the so-called “Yellow Vests”, since last November 2018. According to the artist, this work emulates a famous painting, which is a symbol of the French Revolution, creation of Eugene Delacroix. His name is: “Liberty Leading the People”, but Boyart’s work also shows the current social context of France. “I choose this figure because it is a powerful photo and the events in France with the yellow vests are similar to the time of the past revolutions”, said Pascal, who is also known by the pseudonym PBOY.
There is a main feature known about Boyart’s creation: the painting is hidden in the streets of Paris, which is why the person who wants to solve the riddle must get the artwork following some tracks that are watered by the city and then try to solve the puzzle hidden in it, which contains a lucrative reward. The artist commented that he did the artwork in this way to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the “Genesis Block”, which was held on January 3rd of this year.
“Liberty Leading the People 2019 is inspired by the famous painting by Delacroix made in 1830. With the movement of the yellow vests that began at the end of 2018, it was the right time to make a contemporary version of the original. This is a painting that contains a small secret inside. This street art hides a Bitcoin puzzle”, said Pascal about painting.
Boyart clarified the reward can go in ascent, since anyone interested in making a donation can have access to the address of the digital wallet and transfer there the amount he prefers, in order to make the game much more interesting. He also revealed that a part of the reward is possible thanks to an incentive made by Alistair Milne, an entrepreneur and cryptocurrency enthusiast, who decided to provide his financing for this purpose.
About the project in general, Boyart said: “Alistair was the first one to make donations with BTC in May 2018, using the QR of my street art ($ 400). We started to communicate about this BTC treasure. I had the project to make a BTC puzzle using my street art for a long time, but I did not have enough funds for it. So, he sponsored this mural with 0.26 BTC ($ 1,000)”, Boyart explained.
The Frenchman also raised his opinion about blockchain technology. “Internet allowed the exchange of information between equals; cryptocurrencies allow the exchange of value between peers. Banks and centralized financial monopolies will blink, even in contemporary institutional and financial art”, he explained about his idea of incorporating his art in the cryptocurrencies’ world.
The French crypto-artist has made an artistic career around different murals and painted pieces to represent different themes. Part of his earnings is due to the fact that a few years ago he incorporated his own QR code, which directs to his digital purse, in order to receive payments for his creations, or small payments to appreciate his paintings.
By María Rodríguez