International auction house Sotheby’s will accept Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) for a rare 101.38-carat diamond, the first time cryptocurrency will be accepted as payment at auction of a diamond weighing more than 100 carats.
No other physical object with an estimate even approaching this amount has ever been publicly offered for purchase with cryptocurrency, according to the auction house.
This is a truly symbolic moment. The most ancient and emblematic denominator of value can now, for the first time, be purchased using humanity’s newest universal currency. Never was there a better moment to bring a world-class diamond such as this to the market.
Patti Wong, chair of Sotheby’s Asia
Dubbed ‘The Key 10138’, it is an example of type IIa diamonds, the most chemically pure variety of which only 10 over 100 carats have ever been sold at auction.
A Homage to the Digital World
Sotheby’s, a British-founded American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City and operating in more than 40 countries, is one of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, real estate and collectibles.
With the name ‘The Key 10138’, we wanted to celebrate this enlightening virtue while also alluding to the crucial function of digital keys in the world of NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery in Asia
Along with fiat, the auction house will also accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment for the diamond, estimated to be worth between US$10 million and $15 million. The live single-lot auction will be held in Hong Kong on July 9, with online bidding open from June 25. Sotheby’s will host the auction using its hybrid online and live bidding process.
The Key 10138 diamond is the main attraction of Sotheby’s inaugural “Luxury Edit” sale series in Asia, bringing together a variety of luxury items that include jewels, watches, wine, handbags and rare sneakers. The auction house has not stated whether these other items will be available for purchase with crypto as well.
Increasing Interest in the Digital Space
Sotheby’s has made significant strides in the adoption of blockchain-related technologies such as NFTs. The organisation recently sold a CryptoPunk non-fungible token (NFT) for a record US$11.8 million.
Last month, Sotheby’s sold a Banksy for US$12.9 million in the first instance of a work of physical art sold by a major auction house that was bought with cryptocurrency.
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