Philips, a leading United States auction house, has announced the grand auction of its Jean-Michael Basquiat painting starting May this year. Notably, the firm has listed Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), specifically, as viable payment options.
In a March 7 announcement, the auction house confirmed the upcoming auction of its Jean-Michael Basquiat painting in New York City will take place on May 18. The showstopper 16-foot painting, “Untitled, 1982,” is today estimated at $70 million worth which roughly translates to 1,650 BTC or 25,513 ETH.
Philips also confirmed that it would accept payments in Ether (ETH) or Bitcoin (BTC) during the auction. Interestingly, Philips’ recent announcement confirms the rapidly growing signs of crypto adoption among the world of art.
According to Scott Nussbaum, the senior international specialist for 20th century and contemporary art at Philips, many buyers are increasingly advocating for digital assets as a viable payment option for traditional artworks.
In that context, given that the beauty of Basquiat painting is its ability to inspire both seasoned and new collectors, incorporating digital asset payment is a milestone. In this case, Nussbaum explained that he expects that the acceptance of cryptos and digital assets as payment options within the art world will go mainstream:
“The interest in cryptocurrency and NFTs from the traditional art world is growing rapidly. And though it’s impossible to predict the future, we believe the intersection of digital and traditional art worlds will only continue to flourish.”
Philips Agrees To Take Crypto Payments
Nonetheless, this is not the first time auction house has agreed to take digital assets as payments. In June 2020, Philips successfully auctioned its Banksy piece, using Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as payment options. At the time, its Banksy piece sold for $3.2 million.
Surprisingly, the price target for the Basquiat coincides with the hammer price of the infamous Beeple non-fungible token (NFT) auction, which closed in March 2021. At the time, auction house Christie successfully managed the NFT sale, inspiring more crypto-related auction activities.
In November 2021, rival auctioneer Sotheby followed the same strategy allowing Ether bids in its real-time Banksy auction. In May 2021, Sotheby joined hands with Coinbase to manage auctions in Bitcoin and Ether before taking charge of crypto payments in-house.
Before summing up his sentiments about crypto adoption in the art world, Nussbaum explained that there are many new collectors currently engaged in digital assets, adding:
“It was only a matter of time before it would be of interest as a method of payment.”
Since their explosion into the mainstream in early 2021, NFTs seem to be gaining ground in most sectors of the digital and physical economies. Blockchain gaming seems to be the most revolutionized sector by these digital art works.
More players are now getting into the gaming world since the different play-to-earn NFT games enable them to earn NFTs and various digital assets while they play their favorite games. On its part, Philips is confident that the artwork it puts up for auctioning will get buyers paying using Ether and Bitcoin.
