Sotheby's Rare 100-Carat Diamond Fetches $12.3 Million in Cryptocurrency Payment

The 101.38-carat diamond, known as "The Key 10138," touted as "the highest-priced physical auction item that can be paid for with cryptocurrency," was sold at a Friday auction for 95.1 million Hong Kong dollars (12.3 million U.S. dollars) in cryptocurrency.

The identity of the collector who purchased the pear-shaped diamond named "The Key 10138" is unknown and not from the cryptocurrency community. This 101.38-carat diamond is the most expensive item sold to date using cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Initially, there were reports from Bloomberg indicating that the buyer used fiat currency for the transaction, but the information was later corrected, confirming that the buyer indeed paid with Bitcoin or Ethereum. The transaction will be processed by Coinbase Commerce.

Sotheby's, the British art auction house with a history of 277 years, stated that the sale of this gemstone signifies a "milestone" in the use of cryptocurrency. "The Key 10138" is the second-largest pear-shaped diamond to appear on the public market and comes from the leading diamond company Diacore.

Before the auction, Sotheby's announced that they would accept Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment, with an expected selling price of $15 million.

Kevin Yue, Deputy Chairman of Sotheby's Asian Jewelry Department, stated that by introducing this innovative payment method in luxury goods sales, "we have opened up new possibilities and expanded our reach to an entirely new clientele, catering to a digitally savvy generation."

This article is authorized to be reprinted from Horizon Next Sumari