The art piece “Love is in the Air” by Banksy sold for $12.9 million at Sotheby’s auction house. The winning bidder can pay the price for Banksy’s iconic protest image in cryptocurrency.
The auction involved 4 bidders with a 14-minute bidding battle. The initial estimate of bidding was in the range of $3 million to $5 million. Sotheby’s auction house for the first time accepting the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and Ethereum as a payment option for the physical piece of art. The auction house announced before that they will allow their bidders to pay in cryptocurrency or dollars.
Sotheby’s announced on Twitter that the auction house involved a 14-minute bidding battle between four entities.
According to auction lot pages, bidders could pay using two cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ether, through Sotheby’s partnership with Coinbase. Auction house underlines that first-time cryptocurrency accepted as a payment for a piece of physical artwork.
“The Funds must be sent from an approved wallet or exchange, including Coinbase, Coinbase Custody Trust, Fidelity Digital Asset Services, Gemini or Paxos,” The auction house noted.
Sotheby’s announced another NFT auction. Scheduled to take place June 3 and June 10 sale will feature objects from the iconic NFT collection CrytpoPunks.
