Sotheby’s, the renowned auction house, has revealed that it will take Ethereum (ETH) bids instantaneously for its Nov. 18 auction, which will include pieces by renowned contemporary artist Banksy.
Sotheby initially accepted Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment for a Banksy sale in May. It has directly funded NFT projects, notably startup money for the NFT studio and the blockchain technology platform Mojito. In October, it also created a Metaverse-themed NFT portal with artists including Pranksy, PleasrDAO, Paris Hilton, and others.
Sotheby’s claims that this will be the first time a bidder has accepted cryptocurrency as a normal currency for purchase in a tangible work of art auction in live time. The ‘The Now Evening Auction’ includes Banksy’s Trolley Hunters and Love Is In The Air.
Despite the fact that the bidding costs will be published in ETH, successful bidders will also have the option of paying for the services in Ether, Bitcoin (BTC), or USD Coin (USDC). In its sale for Banksy’s Laugh Now Panel A, which sold for more than $3 million last June, the Phillips auction site welcomed ETH and BTC.
Christie’s, a competitor auction house, was the first one to accept ETH as payment at a CryptoPunks sale last May. Christie’s also notably sold Beeple’s The First 5000 Days for more than $69 million.