The recent craze in the Bitcoin community is that Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, known for her strong opposition to cryptocurrencies, has seemingly shown support for Bitcoin by raising a flag commemorating Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto in the US Capitol Building. However, this is actually just a prank by Bitcoin supporters.
Elizabeth Warren has been vocal about her opposition to cryptocurrencies and has criticized cryptocurrency wallets as the perfect tool for criminals. She has also introduced bills such as the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act last year to restrict financial institutions from using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for transactions.
However, the Bitcoin community went wild this week when a tweet from Bitcoin Magazine claimed that Elizabeth Warren had signed an official order to raise a flag in the US Capitol Building to commemorate Bitcoin’s 15th anniversary and its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin supporters celebrated Warren’s apparent change of stance and embrace of Bitcoin. However, this turned out to be a prank organized by Bitcoin supporters. Anyone can pay to fill out a form on Elizabeth Warren’s official website to have a flag hung in the Capitol Building.
According to Decrypt, both senators and representatives in the United States offer paid services to have flags flown in the Capitol Building to celebrate special occasions such as anniversaries, graduation ceremonies, and retirements. The members of Congress then sign certificates commemorating these special occasions and send them along with a US flag as souvenirs to their constituents.
The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) estimates that up to 100,000 requests for flag-raising are submitted to members of Congress each year through the Capitol Flag Program.
It cannot be confirmed whether a flag was raised to commemorate Satoshi Nakamoto. Due to the large number of requests and ceremonies, the Architect of the Capitol does not keep detailed records of which member of Congress raised which flags on which day. The Architect of the Capitol confirmed that they do not have any records to confirm or deny whether Elizabeth Warren’s office has submitted a flag-raising request to commemorate Satoshi Nakamoto or whether such a ceremony has actually taken place.
The certificate published by Bitcoin Magazine was initially released by Thomas Pacchia, co-owner of PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in Manhattan. Pacchia revealed that an anonymous individual came into the bar recently and handed over a folded US flag and certificate to be kept at PubKey. The certificate bears the signatures of Elizabeth Warren and the Architect of the Capitol.
Thomas Pacchia admitted that he did not seek verification from any government agency to confirm the legitimacy of the certificate.