No, it’s not the beginning of the robot apocalypse. It’s not an NFT come to life. It’s not the final boss in a video game. And it doesn’t poop bitcoins.
“Welcome to the future of finance,” said Miami Mayor Francis Suarez as a blue shroud pulled back to reveal the Miami Bull, a 3,000-pound futuristic statue modeled after Wall Street’s iconic Charging Bull.
The artwork was unveiled Wednesday morning at the Miami Beach Convention Center, where 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the Bitcoin 2022 conference. The bull will later be installed at the Miami Dade College Wolfson campus after the conference.
Suarez, who wore Bitcoin-branded sneakers to the unveiling, was especially excited about the Miami Bull and threw some not-so-subtle shade at New York City, which was “previously the finance capital of the world,” he said.
“They’re laying down the gauntlet,” Suarez said.
The statue is meant to represent Miami’s place as a rising financial and tech hub or, as Suarez likes to call it, the “capital of capital.” The mayor, known for his ambitions to lure tech leaders to Miami, dubbed April as Miami Tech Month, which kicked off with Miami NFT Week on April 1 in Wynwood.
TradeStation, a South Florida-based finance company, commissioned and paid for the statue.
“One of the things we were missing was an anchor, something for the entire community to rally around,” said John Bartleman, the president and CEO of TradeStation Group, as he gestured toward the statue.
As more New Yorkers move to sunny South Florida, the Miami Bull raises the question: Is the Magic City copying the Big Apple?
The massive Miami Bull has the same dimensions as the Charging Bull and has his head lowered in the same fighting stance, too. (Unlike its New York counterpart, though, the Miami Bull is neutered. No shiny, bronze balls here.)
And if the bull reminds you of a certain robot movie franchise, that’s by design. Furio Tedeschi, the artist who designed the Miami Bull, is known for his work in the “Transformers” saga.
SMALL, a renowned New York-based advertising firm, enlisted Tedeschi’s help to design the bull and Onyx Forge Studio to create it, said SMALL executive creative directors Luca Pannese and Luca Lorenzini. Instead of bronze, the bull’s exterior is made of resins and fiberglass, and has several blue lights peeking through the design, including the bull’s angry eyes. Its interior is a sturdy “steel armor.”
TradeStation wanted a piece of work that would represent the future of finance and crypto, they said. The inspiration was obvious.
“A futuristic robot bull that has the body, shape and the pose of the most iconic bull you can find out there, just upgraded and escalated to a new standard,” Pannese said.
Suarez and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava were quick to pose for photos with the bull, flexing next to its glowing blue eyes and golden horns. A gaggle of reporters, photographers and crypto enthusiasts captured every moment on their phones.
Not everyone was impressed, though. On Twitter, one person called the statue “cringe,” while others compared it to the biblical Golden Calf idol that the Israelites worshiped until Moses destroyed it. (Ouch.)
Other Miami residents sarcastically questioned whether the bull will help lower their rising rent prices. (It won’t.)
