In 2017, a moment featuring Christian Langalis became an internet sensation when he boldly displayed a “Buy Bitcoin” sign during Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s Congressional hearing.
Known as the “Bitcoin Sign Guy,” Langalis is now putting up for auction the very same Bitcoin sign he held up behind Yellen, sketched on a yellow legal pad.
This iconic sketch symbolized Bitcoin’s entry into the global financial conversation. Described on the auction platform as one of the few tangible relics associated with Bitcoin’s otherwise digital realm, the sign has garnered admiration from Bitcoin enthusiasts and inspired numerous memes, artworks, and imitation gestures. Despite its popularity, Yellen has consistently voiced skepticism towards Bitcoin.
In a now-famous moment captured in a 2017 post, Langalis humorously peers over Yellen’s shoulder as she opposes audits of the Federal Reserve. With a mischievous grin directed at the camera, Langalis briefly raises the yellow legal pad bearing the words “Buy Bitcoin” in bold black ink, while Yellen remains focused on her testimony, oblivious to the message behind her.
Following Langalis’s display of the sign, a spokesperson for the House Financial Services committee released a statement, noting, “It is against the rules for people in the audience to display signs during a hearing, so they were told to leave the hearing and they did.”
Since then, Langalis has risen to fame, reflecting on the moment by stating, “When Bitcoiners ask me about the sign, I tell them, ‘You’d have done the same in my seat.’ Yes, only I attended the hearing, drew the sign, and flashed it for the camera. However, it was the network spirit which seized the image and fabricated the memes. The full poetry of the stunt was far beyond my devising, therefore, my attitude can only be one of post-authorship. Bitcoin was massively rupturing into the halls of institutional finance in 2017. Any Bitcoiner worth their sats would have told you so. It’s good to finally liberate this number from my sock drawer and offer it back to the Bitcoin public. The message was subversive then, but now merely obvious: Bitcoin is flowing. Control is dead.”
In 2017, Bitcoin commenced the year trading between $1,000 and $1,200. Presently, Bitcoin is valued around the $69,000 mark. Bidding for the iconic “Buy Bitcoin” sign will commence on April 18th, with the auction concluding on Wednesday, April 24th, at 7 pm ET.
