Sotheby’s to hold real-time bids in ETH for Banksy art auction

The historic art auction house Sotheby’s announced Thursday that it will have real-time bids in ETH for its upcoming auction of Banksy paintings.

The auction, dubbed “The Now,” will occur on November 18 and consist of Banksy’s Trolley Hunters and Love in the Air artworks. As of publication, the paintings are estimated to cost between $5 to 7 million and $4 to 6 million, respectively, in USD.

Sotheby’s will also hold its auction at its digital headquarters in Decentraland, a virtual world platform, reports CoinDesk. 

Sotheby’s first began accepting cryptocurrency as payment in May of this year in a collaboration with the crypto exchange Coinbase, The Block previously reported.

However, “The Now” auction appears to be the first time the 277-year-old art house will prioritize crypto as payment over fiat currency. 

In addition to embracing cryptocurrency, Sotheby’s branched into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) this year with its auctions of Bored Apes and CryptoPunks — as well as launching its own curated NFT platform called “Sotheby’s Metaverse” on October 14.