Ross Calvin, the CEO of Bitcoin mining firm Parhelion, has unveiled an audacious proposal to construct a 450-foot statue of Prometheus on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island — a project estimated to cost $450 million, according to a Bloomberg report.
If approved, the monument would tower above the Statue of Liberty and symbolize what Calvin calls the “noble destiny of the West.”
A Monument to ‘Heroism and Ingenuity’
Calvin plans to formally present the proposal to U.S. President Donald Trump in early 2026. The statue, designed under his American Colossus nonprofit, would require the reclassification of Alcatraz — currently a national park — into a national monument to proceed.
Constructed from nickel-bronze alloy, the statue would stand 450 feet tall, overshadowing the 305-foot Statue of Liberty and reaching more than half the height of the Golden Gate Bridge’s 746-foot towers.
According to American Colossus, the project is envisioned as:
“A lightning rod for the noble destiny of the West — America’s monument to beauty, heroism, ingenuity, and manifest destiny.”
Calvin’s team plans to include a museum and cultural exhibit on-site and aims to deliver detailed renderings and financial plans to the White House by January 2026.
The Memecoin Connection
In mid-2025, Calvin briefly launched a Prometheus memecoin through launchpad Believe, though the experiment fizzled. The token currently holds a market capitalization of around $12,000, and the American Colossus website describes it as:
“A casual experiment … We had no expectations for it and quickly moved on.”
Philosopher Jason Jorjani, once announced as a collaborator on the Prometheus initiative, is no longer listed on the nonprofit’s team page.
From Bitcoin Mining to Monument Building
Calvin, a longtime Bitcoin miner who began mining in 2013, leads Parhelion, a Denver-based mining firm boasting 25 megawatts of compute capacity operating in Kurdish Iraq, with additional facilities planned in Syria, Egypt, Libya, and Algeria.
The firm’s diversification into symbolic projects like Prometheus reflects a broader narrative among crypto entrepreneurs linking technological innovation and cultural legacy.
A Symbolic Play for the Crypto Era
While critics have questioned the feasibility of a 450-foot monument on federal land, Calvin’s vision taps into a familiar crypto ethos — the blending of myth, technology, and freedom.
If successful, the Prometheus statue would become one of the largest monuments ever constructed in the United States, immortalizing not just a Greek titan, but also a bold new chapter of crypto-fueled ambition.
Disclaimer
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