The legendary auction house, Sotheby's, prepares another pleasant surprise for the participants of the crypto market. Notably, in May, for the first time, it held an auction where buyers could use cryptocurrency as a means of payment. Back then, a painting by British street artist Banksy "Love in the Air" was sold for more than $12.9 million. This time, a pear-shaped diamond weighing 101.38 carats can be purchased for cryptocurrency.
The precious stone of color category D is called The Key 10138. Its approximate cost varies from $10 to $15 million. Therefore, it may become the most expensive physical object that can be bought for cryptocurrency. The auction will be held in Hong Kong. Bitcoin, ether, and traditional money will be accepted as payment. Payments will be made through the Coinbase platform. " This is a truly symbolic moment. The most ancient and emblematic denominator of value can now, for the first time, be purchased using humanity’s newest universal currency," Patti Wong, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, said in a statement.
"Diamonds are the key to understanding the history of the Earth, telling us about the human destiny and the supernatural power of beauty. Giving the diamond the name "The Key 10138", we want to emphasize the ability of this stone to illuminate our path and at the same time hint at the important role of digital keys in the world of NFT (non – interchangeable tokens-virtual digital units in the blockchain network) and cryptocurrency," Wenhao Yu, Deputy chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry division in Asia, pointed out.
According to representatives of the auction house, in the entire history of auctions, less than ten diamonds weighing over 100 carats were presented and only two of them had a pear-shaped cut.
