Sotheby's To Accept Cryptocurrency For A Rare Diamond

The auction house Sotheby's said that for the first time a rare diamond will be offered for public purchase with cryptocurrency. The auction house added that no other physical item of such great value was available for sale with cryptocurrency.

The 101.38 carat flawless diamond is one of ten over 100 carats ever put up for auction, only two of which were pear-shaped. Its preliminary estimate is between $10 mon and $15 mln, and it will go on sale in Hong Kong on July 9th. According to the world famous auction house, bitcoin and ether, along with traditional money, will be accepted as payment.

Josh PULLAN, managing director of Sotheby's global luxury department, said:

“Over the past year, we’ve seen a voracious appetite for jewels and other luxury items from collectors across the globe. Increasingly that demand is coming from a younger, digitally native generation; many of whom are in Asia.”

This is not the first time Sotheby's has held an auction that involves blockchain technology. The auction house sold its first NFT by anonymous digital artist Pak in April, and its second NFT just two weeks ago, selling a rare CryptoPunk for nearly $12 mln. And on June 23, Sotheby's is auctioning off an NFT of the World Wide Web's original source code.

Image: Sotheby's