Sotheby’s, the famous British-American company founded in 1744, has partnered up with Coinbase so that it would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum for the sale of a physical artwork. This is the first time that the company has done this.
The artwork bears the name “Love Is In The Air” and was created by none other than graffiti artist Banksy. The auction will take place on May 12th in New York, and the bidding is estimated to go between $3 to $5 million.
Sotheby’s declared that the decision to accept crypto via Coinbase “marks an important next step” as we entered the blockchain technology era.
The spokesperson for the company declined to comment if Sotheby’s will accept crypto in the future for other physical artworks.
In April, the company organized an NFT sale that resulted in sales of close to $17 million. More than 3,000 people took part in it.
“With the growing adoption of digital art and NFTs, along with our increased focus on digital innovation, we’ve seen an increasing appetite among collectors for more seamless payment options when doing business with Sotheby’s. Leveraging the trusted exchange Coinbase is a natural progression and is in line with our dedication to enhancing our client buying experience and developing new ways to expand our client base by meeting them where they are,” declared Sotheby’s CTO Stefan Pepe.