Street Artist Hides $1,000 in BTC Inside a Mural Depicting Paris Protests

Over the last eight weeks, the world has watched the yellow vest protests in France as the grassroots political movement has fought for economic justice. On Sunday, the well known street artist Pascal Boyart (Pboy) revealed a mural that contains a solvable puzzle with 0.28 BTC inside. The artist explained that the puzzle cannot be solved remotely and that sleuths must visit the location to decipher the painting’s clues.

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A Yellow Vest Rendition of the Painting ‘Liberty Leading the People’ Holds 0.28 BTC

If you’ve been paying attention to global affairs, you might have noticed the yellow vest protests taking place in Paris, France. Similarly to other political movements like Occupy Wall Street, the yellow-vested Gilets Jaunes have been rallying against obnoxious tax rates, rising living costs, and high fuel prices. Like many of these movements, the anger is directed at the country’s bureaucrats and central banking system that many believe is the root cause of society’s economic hardships.

In the midst of the yellow vest protests in Paris, a popular street artist called Pascal Boyart, otherwise known as Pboy, has created a mural depiction of the drama unfolding in the region. The painting is also a puzzle, which contains 0.28 BTC for whoever can solve the mystery. Pboy explained to his Twitter followers that the conundrum within the mural was funded by the well-known bitcoin enthusiast Alistair Milne.

“A street art treasure hunt in Paris with a bitcoin puzzle,” Pboy announced to his Twitter followers on Jan. 7. “For the 10th birthday of the genesis block, I painted this fresco in Paris with a 0.26 BTC ($1000) puzzle in it.”

In order to solve the puzzle, you must be physically in front of the mural — The bitcoin puzzle now has 0.2845 BTC inside as someone gave more to the bounty.

A Visual Representation of New Age Revolutionaries

So far, no one has solved the puzzle yet as the address still holds the 0.28 BTC inside. According to a marketing executive at Coinhouse, Brian O’Hagan, it was cold outside in Paris when Pboy worked on the painting. “Congrats to Pascal for this great piece and resilience — Painting on a wall for a few days in the middle of winter is not that easy,” O’Hagan emphasized. Another fan of the street art wrote: “I feel like there is not enough celebration for Bitcoin’s 10 years and I am glad Pascal Boyart did this.”

Pboy’s website, which shows a good portion of his portfolio, explains that the mural is based on the famous oil painting of Eugène Delacroix realized in 1830 on the occasion of the July revolution. The artist’s website says that because of the advent of the yellow vests in late 2018 “it was time to resume the composition of the original and make a contemporary version.”

The revised ‘Liberty Leading the People 2019’ is not Pboy’s first cryptocurrency-themed work, as news.Bitcoin.com has featured the street artist’s murals on a few occasions. The painter has done many other renditions of splattered bitcoins, burning euros, and a Dorian Nakamoto painting made of U.S. dollars. Another infamous artist who has done a lot of cryptocurrency-related street art in the U.S. is Cryptograffiti, who gave props to Pboy after the painter revealed the puzzle.

What do you think about Pboy’s mural in Paris that represents a new rendition of Eugène Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’ for the yellow vest movement? What do you think about the BTC puzzle inside? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Images via Twitter, Pboy’s website and Twitter profile. 

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