Original title: The Untold Story of 'Shazow'
Original source: x.com
Original article by Pete Rizzo
Compiled by: Mars Finance, Eason
This is Andrey. He sold the stickman on#Bitcoinfor $3 million in 2010. The price was $0.50.
The Untold Story of âShazowâ: How This Little-Known Artist Kicked Off the $2.2 Trillion Crypto Economy.
In 2010, Andre sold paintings for proceeds in #Bitcoin.
It all started when someone on a forum offered to pay for a picture of a stickman sending bitcoins.
He created the sketch under the nickname "Shazow" and earned $1 in Bitcoin.
At the time,#Bitcoinusers wanted to spend their coins.
In the weeks that followed, Shazow made over 55 BTC â worth over $3 million todayâŠ
But that's not the best part of this story...
All this happened weeks before the first#Bitcoinbull run.
Prices surged to new all-time highs above $30,
Shazow made a quick profit of 3,502%.
But Shazow isnât in it for the money.
At the time,#Bitcoinusers had no idea if the network would work properly.
Today, Shazow calls it a âfascinating experimentâŠâ of smart people coming together to put an end to fiat currency.
One user asked Shazow to draw a ârobot crypto-anarchist riding an alpacaâ in exchange for 2.13 BTC.
He asked the riders to hold a flag with "A3" written on it.
A3 stands for Assessment, Assembly, Action. Itâs a meme used by cypherpunks who want to change the world.
Next, Shazow launched a fundraising campaign.
He wanted to turn his hand-drawn stick figures into vector drawings.
Forum users raised $21 in Bitcoin for him in just one week.
Soon, the requests started pouring in.
Users began asking for more difficult drawings, such as one that explained the Bitcoin encryption. Shazow
Said it was his most difficult painting, but it earned him more BTC.
Another person asked him to draw#BitcoindeveloperGavin Andresen,
He drew a picture of Gavin burning fiat currency with a flamethrower.
He called it "Gavinator".
This is Shazow's drawing of#Bitcoinfounder Satoshi Nakamoto.
He is in a gunfight with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke;
The painting earned him 2.14 BTC.
Another request was for a painting of#Bitcoinfighting the state.
Shazow wants to show that cryptocurrencies are unstoppable.
The painting earned him $5 in BTC.
Others wanted more peaceful images.
In one painting, Shazow was asked to show how#Bitcoincan peacefully coexist with fiat currencies.
The painting earned him $2 in BTC.
Some people want Shazow to promote their own solo projects.
One user requested a drawing of his band's name.
He earned $20 in BTC for this. The band still performs today.
One guy wanted to show him and his bandmates rocking out together.
This painting won him 3 #Bitcoin
, but this is the most legendary part of the whole story...
Andre still holds onto the#Bitcoinhe earned from his art.
That makes him one of the longest active holders of all time.
Today, he still creates art for fun.
A silent early legend.
Andrey Petrov is still active in the crypto space. In addition to continuing his artistic creation, he is also an excellent programmer who develops and maintains multiple open source projects. His github address is: https://github.com/shazow.
