Sotheby lists rare diamond for $15M: buyer can pay in cryptos

Auction house giant Sotheby’s announced Monday that a rare pear-shaped diamond will be up for sale in the coming month, but with a twist: the buyer could pay for their winnings in cryptocurrencies, according to Reuters.

Up for sale to the highest bidder is a 101.38-carat flawless diamond, known as The Key 10138. This happens to be one of just ten confirmed diamonds in the world of more than 100 carats and could be worth up to $15 million. Aside from a historic milestone for the jewelry industry, this is an iconic event for the cryptocurrency sector as no tangible item of this value has been available for sale via a crypto transaction.

All about The Key and other pear shaped diamonds

Sotheby's is auctioning one of just two pear-shaped diamonds in the world. The auction for The Key 10138 will be on July 9 in Hong Kong but online bidding will open on June 25. The buyer can pay in Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ethereum (ETH/USD), or in traditional fiat currency.

In May, Sotheby's auctioned off a Banksy picture for cryptocurrency worth $12.9 million. This was the first case in history of a tangible object sold for crypto by a major auction house.

Commenting on the new and unique auction of the diamond, Patti Wong, chair of the auction house’s Asian branch, said in a statement:

In a seperate statement obtained by Forbes, Wenhao Yu, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Jewellery in Asia said:

Are the ups and downs of crypto a problem?