Banksy Painting Is Now First Physical Art Sold In Crypto By Major Auction House
Image via VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock.com
A renowned painting by the faceless street artist Banksy went off the market on Wednesday. This time, it was paid for in cryptocurrency—US$12.9 million worth of it.
The sale of the Love is in the Air canvas piece at Sotheby’s crystallized it as the first-ever physical artwork to be sold for cryptocurrency through a major auction house, The Hill reports. By association, the sale marked the debut of crypto payments for physical artwork at prominent auction houses.
The famous oil and spray paint work—which features a protester in a balaclava preparing to throw a bouquet of flowers—was projected to be sold for US$3 million to US$5 million, about 35 to 53 bitcoins, but the highest bid far surpassed the estimate, and the sale closed at US$12.9 million.
Per the terms of the sale, bidders could only offer USD, but the buyer would be given the choice to purchase the painting in either Bitcoin or Ether. It is unclear which cryptocurrency was eventually used to pay for the Banksy piece.
[via The Hill, cover image via VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock.com]
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