Auction house Sotheby’s is collaborating with Coinbase to accept cryptocurrencies as a payment method for a physical work of art.
The company said it will accept Bitcoin and Ether as payment when it auctions the Banksy painting, Love Is In The Air, later this month.
"This is the first time that cryptocurrency will be accepted as payment for physical artwork and we are really excited to make this happen. It's something we've been thinking about for quite some time," Sotheby's chief executive Charles Stewart told CNBC's Squawk Box.
"Banksy has been, as you might be well aware, a very popular artist at auction and there is a lot of interest in his work paying with physical money as well. But what better combination to introduce crypto than with an iconic Banksy painting?"
Sotheby's said the decision to accept cryptocurrency for physical payment followed on from the recent success of 'The Fungible' Collection – the sale of non-fungible tokens bestowing ownership of digital artworks from designer Pak, which saw bids from more than 3,000 collectors, most of whom were first-time buyers with the auction house.
Its decision to accept cryptocurrency via Coinbase Commerce, a method for businesses to handle crypto payments, "marks an important next step", the auction house said in a statement.
The Banksy painting has an estimate of $3 million-$5m for the auction, which is due to take place next Wednesday, May 12. Bidders can also pay in cash, Mr Stewart said.
It will be up to the owner of the painting whether or not to keep the cryptocurrency or immediately convert it to US dollars, he added.
"I definitely think we will expand the audience by doing this and it's something that we'll explore going forward, although of course we're very curious to see how this first step in that direction goes," Mr Stewart said.
Bitcoin was trading 3.04 per cent lower at $55,975 on the Coinbase exchange at 5.30pm UAE time on Tuesday. Ether was up 13 per cent at $3,515.39.
“Coinbase is proud to provide Sotheby’s with a sophisticated payment solution, backed by our deep liquidity, and expertise with trading and hedging cryptocurrencies," Sanchan Saxena, Coinbase’s vice president of product and ecosystem, said.
"This is an example of an enterprise that is evolving with their client base to cater to crypto-forward consumers.”
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Banksy's art work
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Honeymoonish
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Avatar%20(2009)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
