Sotheby’s Will Take In Ether For Banksy Pieces In Real-Time At Auction
Image ID 61915992 © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com
Sotheby’s opened its own NFT marketplace dedicated to digital art around a month ago, and the auction house has now ventured into making cryptocurrency more of an integrated part in its main marketplace.
Announced Thursday, Sotheby’s will be holding its first-ever auction, The Now Evening Auction, where live bidding increments will be taken and announced in Ether (ETH). Two particular artworks will be sold in this currency: Banksy’s Trolley Hunters and Love Is In The Air.
These works are currently estimated to cost up to US$7 million and US$6 million respectively, as noted by The Block.
Image via Sotheby’s
While bidding increments for both will be announced in Ether, the winning customers will still be able to choose if they want to pay in fiat currency or one of three cryptocurrencies currently accepted by Sotheby’s: Ether, Bitcoin, and USD Coin.
“The paradigm-shifting move marks the first time that a cryptocurrency will be used as the standard currency for bidding on physical artworks in real-time during a live auction,” Sotheby’s writes.
Other artworks in the auction are valuable pieces by artists such as Mark Bradford and Yoshitomo Nara. Sotheby’s has described its aim as being a “heightened visibility and a relevant art historical context for younger artists, establishing the masters of today and tomorrow.”
The Now Evening Auction will be taking place on November 18, 2021, at 18:00 EST. CoinDesk has also reported that this auction will be taking place at Sotheby’s digital headquarters in Decentraland, a virtual world platform.
Image via Sotheby’s
Fans interested in seeing it happen in real time can watch the event streamed on Sotheby’s social media channels. The exhibition of artworks on offer can also be explored in 3D on the auction’s page.
This is the first sale in which we are accepting ETH for physical art. This is only the beginning as we merge the metaverse with the traditional art world 🖼
— Sotheby's Metaverse (@Sothebysverse) November 14, 2021
Link to sale: https://t.co/96PngMYRrL
[via The Block, cover image ID 61915992 © Rrodrickbeiler | Dreamstime.com, other images via Sotheby’s]
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