Just minutes from now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will lead a rate-setting panel at today’s Federal Reserve meeting where the central bank is expected to lower interest rates by 25 to 50 basis points. But before the rate cut decision is revealed, the inflatable “Bitcoin rat” designed by artist Nelson Saiers has made a return.
Bitcoin Rat Visits Secret Island Where The Federal Reserve Was Born
The giant inflatable Bitcoin rat is currently installed at Jekyll Island, a secluded island off the coast of Georgia where a secret meeting was held over 100 years ago that led to the birth of the Federal Reserve. The fall 1910 meeting brought together six of the most influential bankers of the era to devise a plan outlining how to prevent another Panic of 1907.
The Panic of 1907 led to a 50% collapse of the stock market and numerous bank runs nationwide. What they came up with was ultimately the foundation for the Federal Reserve. The meeting was so secretive, participants were invited under the guise of a duck hunting trip and were asked to only use first names.
Financial journalist and Forbes Magazine founder Bertie Charles Forbes, described the event as the “strangest, most secretive expedition in the history of American finance.” The art demonstration is aimed at shedding light on the ongoing impact this secret meeting between bankers still has today as the public awaits today’s Fed rate cut decision.
“Many people feel our system is pro-banker and not for the little guy. Given the Fed was devised by bankers in secret its not hard for people to be even a bit more suspicious that the game may not be as fair as they’d like,” explained the exhibit’s creator, Nelson Saiers.
Artist Nelson Saiers On Bitcoin And National Debt
The artist behind the Bitcoin rat, Nelson Saiers, is an American mathematical and financial artist whose art has been featured at Harvard’s Leverett House, Alcatraz Prison, and various NY-based galleries. Saiers earned his PhD in mathematics in just one year at the age of 23. While working on Wall Street, he also served as the CIO of an award-winning global derivative hedge fund.
Referred to as the Warhol of Wall Street, Saiers’ work often takes a jab at the Federal Reserve. He has also taken a keen interest in Bitcoin. His now famous inflatable rat is adorned with code from the Bitcoin protocol. “The size of our national debt is very troubling. I think these are some of the forces that excite people about Bitcoin,” Saiers revealed. “Bitcoin is showing it’s been very resilient, even after issues like FTX,” he added.
In addition to coinciding with today’s Fed meeting, Saiers also sought to launch the installation on the anniversary of the day the US House of Representatives passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. Three months later on December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.
