Sotheby’s Will Accept BTC, ETH, And USDC In Exchange For A Rare Black Diamond

Sotheby’s is holding an auction for a rare black diamond known as “the enigma,” bidders can use Bitcoin, Ethereum, or USDC to place their bids.

Sotheby’s Is Getting Ready To Accept Cryptocurrencies For Rare Black Diamonds

According to Forbes, a British auction firm has revealed that a rare black diamond would be auctioned in February, and buyers would successfully purchase it with cryptos. The diamond, called “the enigma,” weighs 555.55 carats and is the biggest of its kind ever sold at auction. Traders with interest can pay for it with one of 3 cryptos: BTC), ETH, or USDC).

Sotheby’s, however, has announced that when the highest offer is in cryptocurrency, the transaction would be handled by Coinbase Commerce. The auction has no restriction, which means the diamond would be going to the winning bidder regardless of price. Based on the reports, the business expects to receive between $4M and $6M.

It’s not the first moment the auction company has accepted cryptocurrency payments for its auctions. The firm ran a similar auction for a 101-carat diamond in July 2021, accepting ETH and BTC bids. An unidentified bidder won the auction, who spent about $12M in cryptocurrencies.

The black diamond on offer this period, dubbed “the enigma,” has never been shown to the people before. It will be on display in Dubai, London, and Los Angeles before going up for online auction on February 3rd.

Attending the Cryptocurrency Nouveau Riche

Sotheby’s appears to have discovered a novel demographic and is currently selling rare jewels to the cryptocurrency nouveau riche. USDC is another addition to the preceding diamond auction, which accepted Ethereum and Bitcoin.

The Pink Star now holds the record for the most valuable diamond ever auctioned, collecting $71M at a Sotheby’s auction during April 2017. A 14.62-carat Oppenheimer Blue was auctioned for $50.6M at a Christie’s auction in May 2016 was another significant transaction. Sotheby’s auctioned a 14.83-carat diamond for $26.6M in 2020. Through 3rd – 9th February, the Enigma would get auctioned off at a single-lot auction site.

ETH and BTC Price

BTC’s value is hovering around $42.7k, up 3 percent in the last 7 days. The cryptocurrency lost 10 percent of its valuation during December 2021. The chart here depicts the value of the cryptocurrency throughout the past 5 days.

ETH/USD Chart | Source: TradingView

Similarly, the price of ETH is approximately $3.2k, up 5 per in the last week. The cryptocurrency lost 17 percent of its value in December 2021.

Both ETH and BTC have been struggling for a few months now as their values have begun to fall. It’s unclear when the cryptocurrency market will recover its equilibrium.