thecoinrepublic.com
- Banksy’s most recognizable works, “Love is in the Air” (2003), is the first piece that Sotheby’s will make eligible for purchase through Bitcoin or Ether.
- As per an official email statement from Sotheby, the winning bidder has the option to pay using cryptocurrency.
- In a press release, the auction house said its decision to recognize cryptocurrencies as a payment method is a “market-defining” arrangement.
Sotheby has achieved a first for “its kind” by becoming the first major auction house to accept cryptocurrencies as payment for physical artworks. Earlier, it used to make sales with digital NFT.
According to CNN, Banksy’s most recognizable works, “Love is in the Air” (2003), is the first piece that Sotheby’s will make eligible for purchase through Bitcoin or Ether. The acceptance of these two cryptocurrencies comes through a collaboration between Sotheby and Coinbase.
It’s expected to sell for a whopping $3-5 million, 35-53 bitcoin. The art piece will go up for auction on May 12 in New York.
News! Banksy's iconic protest painting 'Love Is In The Air' will be available for purchase with cryptocurrency via @coinbase in our Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 12 May in New York — an auction first. Learn more about the painting: https://t.co/20TTRSJsIa https://t.co/T6Z0ry1zWW
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 4, 2021
As per an official email statement from Sotheby, the winning bidder has the option to pay using cryptocurrency.
Significant payments shift in the art world
There is a noteworthy shift in the art world, with some digital artworks in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) being sold at great prices. If you wonder how NFTs work, it proves ownership of a digital item in the same way that people own crypto coins.
Dragan Boscovic, a research professor, wrote in The Conversation that NFT marketplaces do not always accurately describe the value proposition of their selling goods. He argued that the value of any NFT is speculative and is determined by what someone else is willing to pay for it.
Why Sotheby shifted to NFT
In a press release, the auction house said its decision to recognize cryptocurrencies as a payment method is a “market-defining” arrangement. It said it’s a “continuation of Sotheby’s experimentation with new technologies.” This comes after Tesla’s Elon Musk announced that one could buy a Tesla with Bitcoin.
However, critics warn that the validation process necessary for digital transactions is detrimental to the environment. They highlight the huge amount of electricity or energy needed to produce one bitcoin and not forget the carbon footprint that it leaves behind.