The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) presented a unique art exhibition at the Héctor Carlos Janson Historical and Numismatic Museum with Bitcoin prominent. The exhibition, entitled “Art, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of the Economy,” is the first example in the world to display real money that has been destroyed from various nations and Bitcoin miners working in a major banking institution.
Argentina Central Bank Mining Bitcoin
The new display, curated by Argentinian artist Alberto Echegaray Guevara, combines the visual aspects of obsolete paper money with the dynamic presence of Bitcoin and Ethereum mining operations. “We developed this exhibition in collaboration with the Central Bank. It tries to show different types of money. I have been to more than 17 big banks in the last twelve years, where I lost money. The message is related to the disappearance of paper money and new financial systems, more connected to technology,” Infobae, an international online newspaper from Argentina, quotes Echegaray Guevara.
The artist emphasizes the transition to decentralized financial systems integrated with artificial intelligence. “For the first time we will find in the Central Bank currency museum, Bitcoin and Ethereum. What I want to say is where financial and financial systems are headed towards distributed systems in areas that have a close relationship with artificial intelligence,” he emphasized.
Echegaray Guevara, who describes himself as a crypto-artist, destroyed funds from 17 different central banks, including important amounts such as one million Swiss francs, one million euros, one million reais, and 100 million rubles , which includes each within transparent frameworks.
Despite Argentina’s continued reliance on physical money, Echegaray Guevara highlighted a significant digital change in the use of the dollar: “Although in Argentina they still use a lot of paper money, if we talk about dollars, less than 10% is printed, the rest is completely digital. “
This exhibition not only shows the virtual currencies that have been destroyed but also includes the hardware of the miners who have produced more than 250 BTC and 3,000 ETH in more than three years.
To highlight the prominence of Ethereum, a sphere containing 800 real ETH was signed by Vitalik Buterin, the creator of the blockchain. In addition, the exhibition includes works from the production artists of the 1960s, such as Gyula Kosice, Julio Le Parc, and Miguel Angel Vidal, who first used the power of composition in their artworks.
The opening ceremony, attended by Santiago Bausili, President of the Central Bank, together with government officials, prominent Argentine collectors, and important figures from the crypto sector, shows the importance of the event. “The exhibition aims to lead visitors to think about the process of transition from an economy focused on physical money to one where cryptocurrencies and digital assets are starting to gain,” said the organizers.
Scheduled to run until March 2025, the exhibition aims to be a milestone in both the artistic and financial fields.
The revelation created a significant reaction in the global Bitcoin community. Anthony Pompliano, Founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management, commented on X: “Argentina’s central bank opened an ‘art exhibition’ yesterday that includes bitcoin mining machines that work by mining bitcoin. This is the first major bank in the world that I know of that is mining bitcoin. The future is coming very fast.”
Similarly, Patrick Lowry, CEO of Samara AG, shared his insights on X: “The Central Bank of Argentina now has a Bitcoin mining exhibition in its halls. Central banks that accept Bitcoin may survive. Those who do not will perish.”
At press time, BTC traded at $70,949.
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