Sotheby’s, the world’s largest and oldest auction house, has recently announced that it will now accept two of the major cryptocurrencies as payment methods in the upcoming auction.
Charles Stewart, the chief executive of Sotheby’s stated the company will introduce major cryptocurrencies namely, Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment methods for the upcoming auction of Banksy’s “Love is in the Air”. The payment methods will be overlooked and facilitated by Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States of America, as noted by Stewart during an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box.
“It is something we have been thinking about for quite some time”, CEO Charles Stewart stated during the interview. He continued to elaborate on Sotheby’s latest move in regard to cryptocurrency, stating cryptocurrency is the next step for the company after it debuted Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) earlier in 2021.
“Love Is in The Air”, a protest-themed artwork, is one of the finest works of the British street artist known only as Banksy as the real identity of the artist remains unknown. The artwork will be auctioned on May 12 in New York at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction. According to CEO Charles Smith, the bidding for the artwork is estimated to be worth somewhere between $3 to $5 million and will feature bidding options for both Bitcoin, and Ether, along with the U.S dollar.
Global auction houses have been taking steps towards the crypto industry in recent times, as Cointelegraph reported. British auction house Christie’s had announced an NFT auction of digital artwork “Everyday: The First 5000 Days” by Mike Winkelmann in February earlier this year. A record was set by the NFT auction, netting up to $70 million.
Sotheby’s recent announcement comes during a major altcoin rally as Ether hit an all-time high of $3,456 on Tuesday.
