• A European artist showcased his enthusiasm in crypto and NFTs using an $11.7M pure gold cube on New York’s central park.
• While the Castello Cube is not for sale, the artist has a digital coin named $CAST and is planning on an upcoming NFT auction.

A gold cube weighing over 180kgs crowned an ice patch of New York’s central park for a whole day. It not only attracted curious onlookers (The New York Times called it an “Instagram bait”) but also crypto and (non-fungible token) NFT enthusiasts due to its theme. 

Created by European artist Niclas Castello, the cube is a representation of his foray into the world of digital assets and collectibles. Cast in Aarau Switzerland, the cube is a 24-carat gold object worth about $11.7 million at current gold pricing. It is a few feet high, about the height of a stool. Castello wheeled it to the park at 5 AM ET yesterday, where it remained until sundown, heavily guarded by a team of security guards. The cube was thereafter whisked away to a private dinner on Wall Street that was attended by numerous celebrities.

Speaking to Australian IT channel Arnnet, Castello said he designed the cube as “a conceptual work of art in all its facets” and as “something that is beyond our world – that is intangible.” His website says it links “the classical to the digital world” to onboard more participants into the crypto space. Intangibility possibly implies the cube’s heavy security detail, even while it sits in a physical world.

Artwork meets crypto and NFTs

Even more, Castello has his own cryptocurrency, $CAST, which he created with the help of Swiss blockchain company DSENT AG. He views the crypto asset as “digital gold,” meaning the gold cube is likely a metaphorical representation of the token. The Castello Cube might also, in some ways, represent Bitcoin (BTC) – the mother of all cryptocurrencies and the first to whip up the digital gold narrative. All this could be quite ironic though, especially since gold has long been compared to Bitcoin, with the proponents of each citing reasons why one is superior to the other. An example is the recent Twitter exchange between gold bug Peter Schiff and Bitcoin proponent Michael Saylor.

According to the coin’s marketing team, $CAST use cases lie in promoting “artistic talent,” investing in “exclusive products,” and purchasing NFTs. How exactly the crypto coin will achieve these goals remains vague. For now, it is exclusively available on Castello’s website at $0.45 per coin, with a minimum purchase limit of $1,144. $CAST is available to all who pay in euros, except for US residents – likely due to regulatory risks.

The gold cube, on the other hand, is not for sale. However, Castello will be auctioning some NFTs on Feb. 21. Further details on the collectibles are yet to be communicated.

This is not the first time artists have showcased their crypto allegiance using their skills. In September last year, Hungary erected a life-size bronze statue in honor of the anonymous Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

Read More: Hungary erects a statue of Satoshi Nakamoto; Bitcoin’s mysterious creator