During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Sotheby’s CEO, Charles F. Stewart announced that the auction house will begin accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum after a partnership with Coinbase (COIN).
“We are really excited to make this happen. It’s something we have been thinking about for quite some time,” said Stewart.
Stewart said that it will be up to the artists what form of currency they would like to accept.
“That will ultimately be up to them,” said Stewart.
Sotheby’s has already had some experience with crypto-related products when it sold Beeple’s collage NFT in early April for nearly $70 million.
When asked if the company would keep cryptocurrency on its balance sheet or convert it to dollars, Stewart said, “Part of the partnership with Coinbase gives us not only the ability to process the payment but actually that possibility (holding cryptocurrency) as well.”
The first painting that will be auctioned where people can bid using cryptocurrency will be Banksy’s “Love Is in the Air” painting.
Don’t miss out on how smart money is playing the crypto game. Find out how hedge funds, family offices and wall street players are positioning themselves for the growing crypto-economy in our premium newsletter – The Crypto Investor.
Bitcoin 
Ethereum 
Tether 
BNB 
XRP 
USDC 
Solana 
TRON 
Lido Staked Ether 
Figure Heloc 