Cryptotramp

2019 – Paused

Cryptotramp is a performative investigation into visibility, empathy and the contradictions of the digital economy. During the rise of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, Matteo Mandelli transformed himself into a homeless person in cities across Europe. Instead of asking passers-by for money, he asked exclusively for cryptocurrency. This small but unexpected change interrupted people's automatic behaviour, forcing them to stop, observe and question what they were seeing. The project is not about cryptocurrency itself. It is about perception. By replacing a familiar request with an unfamiliar one, Cryptotramp reveals how easily people overlook marginality until something disrupts their expectations. The work becomes a reflection on invisibility, technological progress and the fragile relationship