On August 15, 1971, Richard Nixon announced that he had instructed Treasury Secretary John Connally to "temporarily suspend the convertibility of the dollar to gold." This suspension has never been lifted. On the same day, 55 years later, Lucho Poletti released the first of ten paintings in response to this decree.

Europe has also experienced its own monetary turmoil. Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Bruegel the Elder created their works during a period of expansion in banking, credit, and speculation. The city of Antwerp, depicted by Bruegel, became one of Europe's important commercial centers. Both painters included hundreds of characters in their paintings, constructing complex worlds that allow for the simultaneous examination of human behavior, social order, and moral judgment.

In recent years, Bitcoin artists have increasingly returned to this visual tradition. Earlier this year, BMAG exhibited the work Pepenardo, titled "Master Cuts Out the Stone", which reimagined Jan Sanders van Hemmen's "The Surgeon" and transformed it into a study about "who extracts and who is extracted." Last year, at Bitcoin Amsterdam, Carlijn Kingma displayed " The Waterworks of Money", which depicted the modern monetary system as a interconnected landscape. Complex systems seem to always attract images that can encompass everything within a single frame.

Since 2017, Lucho Poletti has been creating art related to Bitcoin, describing his practice as a visual promotion for a monetary revolution. Since 2021, he has been a participant in the Bitcoin Conference art gallery, and this November he will return to Bitcoin Amsterdam with his work Ten Decrees.

This series reinterprets ten paintings by Bosch and Bruegel; four of them are based on works by Bosch, and six on those by Bruegel, with a focus on the theme of money. The Latin phrase “fiat”, which means “let it happen”, serves as the organizing principle for the entire set of works. All nine titles appear in the form of imperative sentences: Let anger, profit, chaff, play, folly, hunger, refuge, collapse, and ashes appear. The tenth title, “Ultima Fiat”, reverses this authority: Let it be the last time.

The series premiered on August 15, 2026, which coincides with the anniversary of Nixon's announcement; thereafter, it was released every two weeks until January 3, 2027, which marks the anniversary of the Bitcoin genesis block ( Genesis Block ). Each painting contains hundreds of characters and objects, and the inscriptions are often only visible up close. Each 30×20 inch print is limited to 10 copies, and when arranged in two rows of five pieces each, the overall composition spans about four meters.

As of now, five works have been released, with the most recent one being " Fiat Moria " which was launched on October 24th, inspired by Bruegel's "Fables of the Netherlands." The sixth work, " Fiat Fames ", will be released on November 7th.

Before Bitcoin Amsterdam (November 5th to 6th), I discussed with Poletti the ongoing influence of Bosch and Bruegel on Bitcoin art, the relationship between fables and propaganda, and how to transform these detail-rich paintings into a LED exhibition on the main stage of the conference.

BMAG:It seems that Bosch and Bruegel are experiencing a kind of resurgence among Bitcoin artists. Both artists created their works in what is now Belgium and the Netherlands, a time when Antwerp was rising to become a major financial center, while the Habsburg dynasty was devaluing its coins. What kind of transitional period (such as the current one) could attract artists back to the world of Bosch and Bruegel, with their dense depictions of figures and landscapes?

Lucho Poletti:Because they have already solved the problem I was stuck on: how to depict in one go the entire society moving towards disorder at the same time. Bosch and Bruegel put hundreds of people into the same painting, each busy with their own affairs. The system is reflected in this sum total. You're not just looking at a Bruegel painting; you're searching for it within it. This is an excellent way to depict the influence of money, because money itself is never truly seen by anyone, yet everyone can feel it.

They also experienced a monetary problem very similar to ours. Silver from the Americas flowed into Europe via Seville, and then to the bankers in Antwerp. Over a period of 150 years, prices in Western Europe increased sixfold. In 1557, Philip II defaulted on his debts, and the crisis spread throughout Europe. Two years later, Bruegel painted "Proverbs of the Netherlands," in which everyone in the village is busy with some kind of foolish activity, and no one is able to see the big picture.

Those four works by Bosch all revolve around desire: temptation, and the subsequent bills that follow. The six works by Bruegel, on the other hand, focus on crowds and how society functions when rules no longer make sense.

BMAG:This series borrows the original meaning of the word that starts with "F," which is known to every Bitcoin user. All nine of your titles treat fiat as a command, while the tenth one, "Ultima Fiat," seems to reverse this authority. How did you come up with the idea of using Latin as the language for this series? And why does the last decree change the speaker?

Lucho Poletti:fiat has never been a noun. In Latin, it is a verb that means “to make something happen.” In the Latin version of the Book of Genesis, this very word is used by God before light appears: fiat lux. Once someone with authority speaks, things happen. This is a literal description of how fiat currency was born, so I want to include this verb in every title.

Latin language is not unfamiliar to me. For many years, I have been using Latin to name my works: Moneta Divina, Cypher Deos, and Novus Moneta Seclorum which dates back to 2020. Even the dollar itself “speaks” Latin. If you flip over a one-dollar bill, you will see three Latin mottos. The names Ultima Fiat, Fiat Lucrum, and Furia Fiat predate this series itself. After conceiving the three initial decrees, I continued to add more until I had ten in total, and then the names for the entire series became clear. Under Ten Decrees lies the “Ten Commandments,” which is very fitting for those works that are reconstructed through painted sermons. In Fiat Lucrum, there is a lighthouse in the upper left corner with the inscription FIAT LUX GENESIS 1:3. This title is a rephrasing of that phrase for the printing press: “Let light appear” becomes “Let profit appear.”

The first nine decrees are issued to you in the straightforward tone commonly used by institutions: let profit arise, let hunger arise, let games arise. The tenth decree is the only one we can respond to. “Let this be the last time” means more of a request than a command. Since 1971, each of us has been living under the first nine decrees, whether we realized it or not, and Bitcoin is our way of issuing the tenth decree. It brought the series to an end on January 3rd, which was both the anniversary of the creation block and my birthday.

BMAG:Bosch and Bruegel created extremely complex visual worlds that juxtaposed fables, satire, religious symbols, and everyday life. Their paintings encourage viewers to look closely, yet they rarely provide a single, clear explanation. In “Ten Decrees”, you have borrowed their compositional techniques while adding a more direct critique of the monetary system. How do you handle the relationship between ambiguity and information in your work?

Lucho Poletti:Words are responsible for conveying information, so there's no need for characters to speak on my behalf. There isn't a single word in Bosch's "Paradise on Earth." However, in Fiat Lucrum, there are more than fifty objects with words on them, some of which are as straightforward as protest slogans: four printing machines are labeled QE-1, QE-2, QE-3, and QE -∞. There's also a handwritten card placed on the broker's desk that reads: "Genius, we print; you pay. Wishing you a pleasant day." No one needs to guess my opinion about the monetary system.

I leave the ambiguity to the characters. In “Fiat Lucrum”, there is a group of people cheering around a woman holding a golden scepter with a dollar symbol on it; above their heads hangs a sign that reads “ETF”, and all of them are wearing my masks. The men who sign leveraged contracts wear my masks, as do the women who take out mortgages. In “Fiat Palea”, a masked person stands amidst a pile of printed banknotes that reach up to their knees. The boss painted his neighbor in the center of the garden, and I did the same with my neighbor too. If the ₿ on the forehead were a badge of honor, I wouldn’t give it to others that way. It’s more like a badge for “insiders” or “newcomers”. Knowing that the monetary system is broken doesn’t make one a saint.

I am also cautious about the ending. These works present possibilities, but they do not promise a way out. Near the center of “Fiat Moria”, there is a door with light shining through it. Above the arch, it reads “MONEY ₿ BETTER WORLD”. A man with a calm expression stands on the steps, looking back at the square. He hasn’t entered yet, and no one stops him. Where you stand in that painting is up to you to decide.

BMAG:In “Fiat Lucrum”, you reinterpreted Bos’s “Paradise on Earth” and introduced a set of hydraulic systems: pipelines, reservoirs, and fluidity in motion. Bos often allows viewers to see things that the characters in the paintings cannot see. What possibilities does using this kind of visual allegory to depict such an abstract monetary system bring?

Lucho Poletti:There were never any pipes in Bos's garden, so I added them. Water is the essence that governs the entire Fiat Lucrum. It begins cleanly from a high mountain on the left side, flows out from a machine within the Garden of Eden, and finally converges into a reflective pool. There is a viewing window in the wall of the pool, and behind the glass, there are fish swimming. Someone has created an observation port in the reservoir, so you can inspect it, and every full node on the Bitcoin network is that very window.

Walking downstream, the water surface expands into a lake. In the center of the lake there is a glass tank with the inscription FRESH LIQUIDITY on it, and the bowl itself is engraved with BOTTOMLESS. Eight people are inside, reveling to their heart's content. The valve wheel that controls the water flow is located at the top of the dome, outside of the glass, and none of them can reach it. Monetary policy is determined by people who are not at the party. Moreover, this tank is leaking. The water then turns orange and flows down a stream and over a waterfall into a pool, where a tick with a dollar sign drawn on one cheek is drinking water through a hose.

That's what you call a "boss-style" tactic. The bathers can't see the leaks or the valves, but you can see both from the other side of the room. Around 1730, Richard Cantillon proposed that new money would first benefit those who get it first, and those who get it last would have to pay for it. I've depicted it as a watercourse because everyone understands water: those upstream drink first, and those downstream can only drink what's left over.

BMAG:Looking at the entire series, are there any details, references, or artistic decisions that you find particularly important, but that viewers might overlook? What do you hope that people who see these paintings for the first time will spend more time focusing on?

Lucho Poletti:These works need to be viewed up close, and most of the important content is quite small in size.

First, let's look at those ordinary faces. Everyone will immediately notice the Satoshi Nakamoto mask and the dollar skull, as they are the most prominent, but the ordinary faces belong to those who have been affected by the system. In “Furia Fiat”, a row of bald men are crawling on all fours, with red tubes inserted into the back of their heads, and the liquid in the bowls marked “TIME” a few meters away is of the same color. That is what has been drawn from their bodies. In “Fiat Palea”, Adam and Eve stand beneath a snake whose eyes are dollar symbols. They are wearing masks, but none of them have the symbol ₿ on their foreheads.

Then, we observe how characters connect with each other across distances. In “Fiat Ludus”, there is a bag labeled “STIMULUS” placed on a bench, with an elder sitting beside it; not far away, a child walks away carrying the same bag, which is labeled “THE BILL”. A boy with his eyes covered stretches out his arms to feel his way around, while a man rushing towards him holds a string of dollar balloons that he cannot see. Even the names signed on the enrollment forms are “Seymore Debt” and “Max D”. “Out”.

In “Fiat Palea”, a broken box is sprayed with “EXECUTIVE ORDER 6102” and placed among the straw; further away, a metal plate spanning the vault bears the inscription “WINDOW”, “NO REDEMPTION”. Roosevelt took the gold in 1933, and Nixon closed that “window” in 1971. I have placed these two events close enough to each other so that you will read one first, and then discover the other. Higher up on the same painting, a person wearing a mask with “WHOOPS” written on their vest is pouring gasoline onto a burning bank. In “Furia Fiat”, a dollar-shaped skeleton stands on “GNOSIS”, holding the book of knowledge, keeping it for oneself.

There are also dates inside the bubbles. In the image labeled “Fiat Ludus”, there is a sphere with tulips on it, marked with 1637 and 1720; in another sphere, there is a hen squatting on an egg, marked with 1929 and 2008. On the second day of the 1929 stock market crash, the front-page headline of “Variety” read “WALL ST”. In some skies, there are thin straight-line clouds behind the smoke; those are traces left by airplanes.

We also need to consider the price. Prices denominated in US dollars will only go up: in “Fiat Ludus”, the original price of 5 cents for CANTILLON’s hot dog stand has been crossed out and replaced with 9 dollars. Prices denominated in sats will only go down: in “Fiat Moria”, the price of 4000 has been crossed out from one fish stand, then it was 2000, and now it’s 1000 SATS. In “Fiat Ludus”, the price of carrots being traded has dropped from 7,500 sats to 3,000 sats on the blackboard, and there’s also a pattern of hopscotch with US dollars next to it.

Latin text is meant to be read out loud. MORITURI TE SALUTANT — "The departing greet you" — is inscribed on the edge of the arena Fiat Ludus. EX NIHILO — "Creating something out of nothing" — is engraved above an empty vault in Fiat Palea. In Fiat Moria, there are plaques on either side of a dollar skull peering out of a window: one reads MUNDUS VULT DECIPI, meaning "The world is willing to be deceived"; the other reads $ TULTORUM INFINITUS EST NUMERUS, where "S" has been replaced with the dollar symbol, signifying "The fools are endless". In Fiat Lucrum, there is a small panel that summarizes a lifetime through four stages: school, debt, work, and death.

And in “Fiat Moria”, there’s also a small circular time machine with “NO RETURN” written on its side, and the dial reads 1944-2026. A man is climbing out of it, staring at the village. 1944 was the year the Bretton Woods system was established; at that time, the world pegged its currencies to the US dollar, which in turn was pegged to gold. He left back then, and now he has just arrived; upon seeing everything before him, he can hardly believe it.

None of these come with accompanying illustrations or captions. You have to get as close as possible, just like when viewing the works of Bruegel, and spend a long time searching; and the very act of “finding” them is in itself the whole meaning.

BMAG:Each painting is 18,000 pixels wide and contains hundreds of characters. Each Satoshi Nakamoto mask is hand-drawn, with details that only become apparent upon close inspection. You describe this work as “crafted, not, generated”. At a time when AI can already mimic the works of old masters quite realistically, what does such labor mean to you? And how does it shape the way you wish the audience to experience these works?

Lucho Poletti:“crafted, not, generated” is a phrase I use to summarize the real labor that goes into these works. Although machines are involved in my creative process, they are just a part of it. I trained a model using my own works over the years to have it roughly complete the composition for me. I see it as an apprentice. The boss came from a family workshop, and even the masters of his time relied on assistants to do the preliminary work so that they could focus their time on shaping the meaning. My model first sketches out the scene, providing me with a foundation, and then I build upon that according to the standards they set. Afterwards, I spend weeks in a highly time-consuming manual process within Photoshop on each work, making decisions, drawing hundreds of characters, objects, symbols, and phrases until the work conveys the meaning I wish to express.

AI can now indeed imitate the styles of Bosch or Bruegel quite realistically. But it cannot impart meaning. It won’t decide that the valve of that liquid-filled tank in Fiat Lucrum should be placed outside the glass so that the bathers cannot reach it. Nor will it decide that the dirt on the ground should be connected to a money-saving jar attached to a printing press, each with its own name: SAVINGS, PENSION, NEST EGG. Nor will it tell jokes. It will never put a fool in a clown’s hat and place them on a platform marked with TAKE IT AT FACE VALUE, while at the same time having a dollar skeleton apply makeup to itself. My personal belief is that if the main work is not done by me, then it is not my art. I have always adhered to this principle, and anyone who looks at these works up close can see that it is one person who made those key decisions.

I hope people view these works in this way: up close and for a long time. I don't expect anyone to believe how they were created just based on what I say. The works themselves speak more to this point than I could.

BMAG:You have been involved with Bitcoin Conference since 2021, and this November, Ten Decrees will take center stage on Bitcoin Amsterdam, not far from the historical heart where Bosch and Bruegel created their works. These artworks are extremely detailed and designed for close viewing. How do you transform them into large-scale LED screens? Does having an exhibition in the Netherlands hold any special significance for you?

Lucho Poletti:These prints were originally designed for someone to stand close by and search through the images to discover details that resonated with them personally. However, the LED wall allows a thousand people to see them simultaneously from 50 meters away, which presents an excellent opportunity to create a visual experience for static artworks. Therefore, I make every effort to ensure that each print is presented in a way that is truly captivating.

Each work will be played for 15 seconds and presented in the order in which they were released. The central large screen will move slowly from left to right once, displaying the central part of each work, allowing the entire space to perceive its shape. The right-side screen will first show the corresponding original work by Bosch or Bruegel, along with its name and date, and then switch to my version halfway through the playback. The left-side screen will reveal horizontal details that are never visible on the ground, such as the fool's boat riding on a mast in Fiat Moria, or the pigs feeding in the trough in DEBASED. The five works that have been released so far will play continuously in a loop, with the works of the old masters placed alongside my versions.

The Netherlands means a lot to me. Bosch spent his entire life in Scherptenhoutbosch, which is about an hour's train ride from Amsterdam. Some of Bruegel's proverbs are still in use in Dutch today: when someone follows the crowd and changes direction, people still say that he is "hanging his cloak on the side of the wind"; and in "Fiat Moria", a person wearing a Satoshi Nakamoto mask jumps down from a mountain, holding a cloak in their hand – this is a direct reference to the Dutch proverb "to turn with the wind".

Amsterdam also has its own chapter in this story. The Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1609 with the aim of providing merchants with a currency that could not depreciate; for over a hundred years, because people believed that there was indeed silver in its vaults, its bank guilder was always traded at a higher price than ordinary coins. David Hume regarded it as a model bank fully supported by reserves. Later, it was discovered that the bank had been quietly lending to the Dutch East India Company. When this fact became public in 1790, the premium disappeared, and the bank declared insolvency. I can think of no other city that would be more suitable than this one to present a series of works about monetary laws and trust just two months before the anniversary of the creation of the blockchain.

Exhibition and Extended Reading

Lucho Poletti's Ten Decrees will be exhibited on the main stage at Bitcoin Amsterdam from November 5th to 6th, 2026, as part of the Bitcoin Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG) project. We welcome you to read the detailed explanations written for each piece in Poletti to gain a deeper understanding of the art, symbolism, and historical references within the entire series of works, and please follow them on X.

Read more content from the BMAG Bitcoin Amsterdam series: 《The Undercurrent : Three European Artists on Making Money Visible》 as well as 《The Architecture of Money : Mapping Financial Power in the Age of Bitcoin`.

Bitcoin Museum and Art Gallery ( BMAG ) organize international exhibitions, auctions, and artist collaborations to explore Bitcoin and its cultural impact.

Welcome to participate in Bitcoin Amsterdam from November 5th to 6th, 2026, and use the code BA26-BMAG20 to enjoy a discount on tickets. Click here to purchase tickets.