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Short Message | Auction house Sotheby's collaborates with Coinbase, allowing bidding on Banksy artwork with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

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Short Message | Auction house Sotheby

The auction house Sotheby's announced that in the "Contemporary Art Evening Auction," Banksy's famous graffiti artwork "Love is in the Air" can be purchased with Bitcoin and Ethereum. This payment service is provided by the Coinbase Commerce platform of the commercial service provider Coinbase.

"Love is in the Air" Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments

On May 12th, in the United States, Sotheby's will auction Banksy's graffiti artwork "Love is in the Air". As shown in the image below, this auction will accept not only fiat currency but also cryptocurrency.

According to the rules, both Bitcoin and Ethereum can be used as a payment medium. However, the funds must come from specific institutions, including: Coinbase, Coinbase Custody Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets Services, Gemini, and Paxos.

Bidders are required to provide wallet information to Sotheby's in advance. Sotheby's will contact the bidders and provide commercial invoices and instructions to users on how to make payments using cryptocurrency.

Banksy's Artwork Previously Burned as NFT

On March 4, 2021, an organization called "Burnt Banksy" burned Banksy's physical artwork "Morons" and minted it as an NFT for auction. It was eventually sold for 288.69 ETH, approximately worth $950,000 before the deadline.

Some people view this act as in line with Banksy's style of creating replica prints, while others criticize the behavior.