The Undercurrent: Three European Artists on Making Money Visible

Ahead of Bitcoin Amsterdam, ZETRA, RYR, and Cypherpunk Now reflect on the cultural roots of bitcoin, the changing meaning of money, and a movement confronting its own institutional success. Amsterdam helped lay the foundations of modern finance, but its artists were among its earliest critics. When speculative bubbles burst across Europe in 1720, Amsterdam printers and satirists responded with The Great Mirror of Folly , a collection of engravings and plays exposing the excesses of financial speculation. Nearly three centuries later, the city hosted another monetary experiment.