Sotheby’s is jumping on the crypto craze.
The 277-year-old luxury auction house said it would accept bitcoin and ether, the digital tokens of the Ethereum blockchain, for payment at its auction next week of Banksy “Season of love” Masterpiece.
Sotheby’s said in a statement that this is the first time a major auction house will accept cryptocurrencies as payment for a physical piece of art.
Sotheby wrote in a statement on Tuesday, “Undoubtedly, the pair bring one of the biggest hurdles to finance with one of the art world’s most notable disruptions.”
Sotheby’s said it partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase to facilitate bidding, estimated at $ 3 million to $ 5 million.
The auction house began flirting with the crypto world in March, when it announced that it would auction off a series of non-fabled tokens, or NXTs, which are digital assets representing ownership of virtual objects such as art and sports memorabilia. We do.
The ownership of NXT is recorded on a blockchain network, which supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.
Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart said, “It may well be that the winner of this painting pays in dollars and doesn’t crypto, but I think that possibility is interesting for us.” Told CNBC
. “There is clearly a large audience interested in NXT beauty and possibility. Why won’t he reach the world of physical art? It will be very interesting to see. ”
Some NXTs have received jaw dropping prices in recent months. The first NXT sold by Sotheby’s rival Christie was purchased for over $ 69 million.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the world, with a market capitalization of around $ 1 trillion, according to Coinbase. Ether is the second largest market with a market cap of about $ 370 billion.
Both prices have skyrocketed in recent months, thanks to cheerleading by big business leaders such as Mark Cuban and Elbin Musk.
The adoption of crypto worlds such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and other major US companies has also led to a spike in prices. Sotheby’s adoption is another indicator of the increasing adoption of digital tokens.
But critics have slowed down cryptocurrency prices as a pure speculation of digital assets that may be worthless.
Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said on Saturday that the rise of bitcoin was “contrary to the interests of hatred and civilization.”
“Of course, I hate the success of bitcoin,” the 97-year-old Munger said during a Q&A session at Berkshire’s annual incomeholder meeting. “I do not welcome a currency that is very useful to kidnappers and extortionists, nor do I like your shuffling of billions of dollars of extra billion who have just bought a new financial product out of thin air. Is invented. “
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