Elizabeth Warren Salutes Satoshi Nakamoto? Bitcoin Fans Are in a Frenzy

Across Crypto Twitter on Thursday, the rumor buzzed, accelerated by the delicious smack of hypocrisy: Senator Elizabeth Warren, cryptos famed arch-nemesis, allegedly flew a flag above the U.S. Capitol to honor pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, and commemorate the tokens recent 15th birthday.

This is the same Elizabeth Warren thatjust weeks agodecried the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs as a huge mistake that fatally let crypto burrow even deeper into our financial system?

What?

Crypto advocates quickly seized on reports about Warrens supposed change of heart regarding Bitcoin, theorizing as to what may have been behind it.

Some hailed the development as a sign of major shifts underway in the U.S. governments approach to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Others expressed sheer disbelief.

But above all the giddy speculation as to why Elizabeth Warren hoisted a flag for Satoshi, loomed a much larger question: Was any of this actually true?

Tracing the rumor back to its origin, the hullabaloo started this morning after Bitcoin Magazine published a story asserting it had seen certificates commemorating a flag raising in Satoshis honor, signed by Warren and the Architect of the Capitolwhose office coordinates the Capitol Flag Program.

Those certificates, in turn, were first put on the publications radar by the owners of PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattan.

Thomas Pacchia, one of PubKeys co-owners, told Decrypt that an anonymous individual recently approached the bars staff with a folded U.S. flag and certificates bearing what appeared to be the signatures of Warren and the Architect of the Capitol. They claimed that the objects were important relics of a watershed moment in Bitcoins history.

PubKey eagerly accepted custody of the flag and documents, which are now on display in the bar. The establishment owns many pieces of Bitcoin-related memorabilia.

Were humble stewards of these historic artifacts, Pacchia told Decrypt.

The bar owner said he hadnt confirmed directly with any government entities that the certificates were in fact legitimate, but added that this didnt much concern him.

We dont have full details on motivation and mechanics, but we have no reason to believe the certificates are false, he said.

So how, exactly, does a shadowy anon with little backstory end up at a pub in Greenwich Village with documents ostensibly signed by federal officials, which appear to prove that one of Bitcoins most prominent enemies ceremonially honored the cryptocurrencyduring an event that was, by the way, never publicized?

It turns out that federal lawmakers like Warren rarely, if ever, hoist flags via the Capitol Flag Program of their own accord.

Senators and congresspeople all offer their constituents the ability to purchase flags that are flown over the Capitol to celebrate personal occasions like anniversaries, graduations, and retirements. Lawmakers then sign certificates commemorating such occasions and send them, along with a U.S. flag, to constituents to keep as mementos.

The Architect of the Capitol estimates that 100,000 such requests are submitted by lawmakers to the Capitol Flag Program every year.

Due to that high volume of applications and flag ceremonies, the Architect of the Capitol does not keep detailed records about what flags, submitted by which lawmakers, are flown on what day. A representative of the AOC confirmed they had no records on file that could confirm or deny whether Elizabeth Warrens office ever submitted a request, on behalf of a constituent, to hoist a flag in honor of Satoshi Nakamotoor whether such a ceremony ever took place.

The only office able to confirm or deny the existence of that application, or its approval, would be that of Senator Warren. Decrypt reached out to Warrens office regarding the matter, but did not immediately receive a response.

The anonymous person who recently showed up at PubKey with the certificates claims to be a Massachusetts citizen. They told PubKey employees they applied for a Satoshi-themed flag, but didnt expect to receive it, until a U.S. flag and the Warren-signed paperwork showed up in the mail.

If the anons tale is true, that of course doesnt mean that Warren suddenly approves of Bitcoin. It most likely indicates that someone in her office, which is presumably inundated with hundreds of Flag Program requests a year, didnt check closely enough to catch a clever ploy to make Warren look like a hypocrite.

Either that, or a mole walks among them.

Edited by Andrew Hayward