Sotheby’s announced on Tuesday it would accept bitcoin and ethereum as payment for Banksy’s iconic artwork “Love is in the Air”, a first for a physical art auction and the latest sign of growing mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies. “Bidding for the work is estimated at $3 million to $5 million,” Sotheby’s said, with the buyer having the option to pay with cryptocurrency.
The auction house has tied up with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. for the sale. Coinbase said in a blog it would help manage price fluctuations during the auction in New York next week.
Sotheby’s is a British-founded, American multinational corporation headquartered in New York City. It is one of the world’s largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewelry, real estate and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, but maintains a significant presence in the UK. Digital art is an artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, and cryptocurrencies have already made a mark in the world of digital art.
Pricing for digital art can be anywhere from a few dollars or more, depending on the quality and complexity of the product or project. However, premium prices for designs that are exclusive to the buyer could go even higher. Some exclusive cover art designs have sold for millions. A digital artwork Everydays “The First 5000 Days” by American artist Mike Winkelmann, who is better known as Beeple, actually sold for nearly $70 million at Christie’s in March. This was the first ever sale by a major auction house of a piece of art that does not exist in physical form.
