Sotheby’s, founded in 1744, продал a rare diamond weighing 101.38 carats for $12.3 million in cryptocurrency.
The auction took place on July 9 in Hong Kong. Bids were accepted in traditional currency, Bitcoin, or Ethereum. The buyer is unknown, and it is not specified which cryptocurrency was used for the transaction.
Earlier in Sotheby’s assessed the diamond at $10–15 million and noted that this was the first time a lot of this value had been offered for sale with cryptocurrency as a payment option.
In May, Sotheby’s sold a Banksy work “Love is in the Air” for $12.9 million. It was the first instance of conducting a sale of a physical artwork with the option to pay by Bitcoin or Ethereum.
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