&BdD
anonymous by design
privacy. sovereignty. private money.
Art, objects and ideas from outside the ledger.
"The object exists. The identity does not.
Identity is a liability. Cryptography is the signature."
WHO IS
ZATO
KNOWN
- Artist.
- Collector.
- Designer.
- Observer.
UNKNOWN
- Name.
- Location.
- Face.
- Identity.
ZATO chose anonymity. Identity is deliberately secondary here — not because there is nothing to say, but because the ideas matter more than the person holding them.
Privacy is not secrecy. Financial privacy is personal privacy. Sovereignty requires control over one's own identity, information and value — and ZATO is interested in the systems that determine how those things get recorded.
Art is one way those ideas become physical. Cryptography is another. Objects can carry ideas further than words can.
NAKAMOTO
FRANCK MULLER × ZATO | 2022 | EDITION 100
In 2022, ZATO conceived and designed Nakamoto, a limited-edition collaboration with Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller.
The project brought together mechanical time and decentralised money. Named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, the watch translated an idea from the digital monetary world into a physical object.
100 pieces were produced.
FRANCKMULLERENCRYPTO.COM
THE
VAULT
The permanent record of known ZATO objects. Hover to reveal detail. Click to view in full.
BITCOIN LIZZY
2022PHYSICAL ARTWORK
At first glance, an image of one of Britain's most recognisable symbols of monetary and political authority. Look closer. Bitcoin symbols are concealed within the details — cut into the crown and worked into the necklace. The work places an old symbol of value beside a new one.
NAKAMOTO TIME
2022PHYSICAL / LIMITED EDITION
Franck Muller × Zato. Edition of 100. A mechanical timepiece named after the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.
MORE OBJECTS PENDING CATALOGUE — INQUIRE VIA SECURE CHANNEL
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
Privacy is sovereignty.
Identity is not a prerequisite for thought.
Financial privacy is personal privacy.
Ownership without autonomy is incomplete.
Cryptography gives individuals agency.
Systems deserve scrutiny, not blind trust.
Physical objects can carry digital ideas.
Art can conceal as much as it reveals.
Some things are meant to be discovered.
PRIVATE
MONEY
Every financial transaction can reveal information — where you were, what you bought, who you paid, when you paid.
Financial privacy is therefore also informational privacy. ZATO is interested in systems that allow individuals to retain greater control over that information.
Privacy by default.
Transaction details are obscured for every participant, by design.
Privacy with selective disclosure.
Transactions can be shielded, with disclosure available at the holder's discretion.
NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE — NO PRICE DATA — RESEARCH FOR YOURSELF
TRANSMISSIONS
SYSTEM INITIALISING
No transmissions have been sent yet.
DROPS
STATUS // DORMANT
Nothing has been hidden yet.
SECURE
CHANNEL
$ initialise --secure-channel --protocol=telegram
> CHANNEL: TELEGRAM
> IDENTITY: NOT REQUIRED BY ZATO
> NOTE: Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default and may retain account/metadata.
> STATUS: OPEN
Commissions and inquiries are handled through Telegram — no email, no forms.
PARAMETERS_WELCOME:
- [WALLET_HANDLE] — 0x... or @handle
- [BUDGET_SCOPE] — Commission details / project scope
- [CHANNEL_PREF] — Telegram / Signal / Other
// NO PERSONAL DETAILS REQUIRED — WALLET OR HANDLE SUFFICIENT
// SUPPORT :: PRIVATE_CHANNELS
SUPPORT THE ARCHIVE
// Payments only. For communications, use SECURE CHANNEL above.