Sotheby’s will take ETH bids in real time for Banksy auction
Prestigious auction house Sothebys has announced it will accept Ether (ETH) bids in real-time for its Nov. 18 auction that includes works by famed street artist Banksy.
Sothebys claims this will be the first time an auction house has accepted crypto in real time as a standard currency for payment in an auction on a physical work of art. The auction, titled The Now Evening Auction features Banksys “Trolley Hunters,” and “Love Is In The Air.”
Although the bidding prices will be announced in ETH, winning bidders have the option to pay for the works in either Ether, Bitcoin (BTC) or USD Coin (USDC).
Sothebys first began accepting BTC and ETHas payment back in May for a different Banksy auction. It has financially supported nonfungible token (NFT) projects, including providing seed funding for NFT studio and blockchain tech platform Mojito. It also launched a metaverse-themed NFT platform with Pranksy, PleasrDAO, Paris Hilton, and others serving as curators in October.
Sothebys is not alone among auction houses involved in crypto and blockchain, however.
Related:NFTs could mark a resurgence in art galleries
Competing auction house Christies was the first to accept ETH as payment in a CryptoPunks auction it held last May. Christies also famously auctioned off Beeples,“The First 5000 Days,” for over $69 million.
The Phillips auction house accepted ETH and BTC in its auction for Banksys, “Laugh Now Panel A,” which sold for over $3 million last June.
