“Take The Power Back” - The Man Who Raised Bitcoin Billboards Across America

In brief
A crypto artist that goes by the name of Cryptograffiti put up 12 Bitcoin billboards across America.
The project aims to help promote Bitcoin as the people's currency.
Cryptograffiti also criticized the US government for policies that have devalued the US Dollar.

A street artist known as “Cryptograffiti” spent last month erecting Bitcoin billboards in every Federal Reserve Bank city in America.

These billboards are spread across all 12 of America’s Federal Reserve Bank cities, including Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Chicago. And each of these billboards propose Bitcoin as an alternative that provides financial stability for people.

“Take The Power Back,” “Opt Out Of This Broken System,” and “A Peaceful Revolution,” the billboards say.

The campaign critiques the US government’s policies following the abolition of the gold standard in the 1970s. At the same time, it promotes Bitcoin as an alternative monetary system.

“Without a cap on how much money could be printed, The Federal Reserve was now free to create unlimited quantities of dollars,” Cryptograffiti tweeted, adding, “When the Fed prints money, inflation occurs and prices go up because all dollars are worth less.”

Cryptograffiti’s Bitcoin ideology
Cryptograffiti’s personal goal is to separate money from the state. And he wants more people to buy into this ideology. To do that, he has turned to art.

Cryptograffiti doesn’t describe himself as a libertarian—although many in the Bitcoin community are—but he acknowledges that the inspiration behind these billboards borrows heavily from libertarian thinking. Especially the idea that the US Federal Reserve should not be printing money ad infinitum.

“The issues with inflation are really at the root of all of this. I found that a lot of people don’t trust the stats they’re given about the economy,” he told Decrypt, adding, “There’s a school of thought that suggests it’s way worse than what we’re told—which I can believe, based on other dissemination of information from the government.”

But Cryptograffiti is not about to take to the streets kicking and screaming about a Bitcoin revolution. Instead, he quietly goes about his business trying to attract newcomers into an alternative reality that has already been built.

“What Bitcoiners have done is just build this new existence, and rather than go out into the streets and protest, they’re doing it with their wallets,” he said. “I subscribe to that, I’m trying to get other people to vote with their wallets rather than storm the Capitol.”

But Cryptograffiti is not making his art in the hopes that just anyone takes notice. He has a target market in mind: the masses who have yet to embrace the promise of Bitcoin.

Using art to bring Bitcoin to the masses
Cryptograffiti’s billboard art is designed to deliver the message and promise of Bitcoin to working class communities in a way that people can understand.

He is not a programmer or a coder, but he believed in Bitcoin from its earliest years and wanted to do his part to promote its cause. As an artist, Cryptograffiti leaves it up to others to discuss the mechanics of Bitcoin. He focuses instead on trying to capture the essence of Bitcoin.