Sotheby’s is one of the largest auction houses globally, and they are famous for selling exclusive arts and collections. And now, for the first time, Sotheby’s now accepts Ethereum as a payment option for physical items on auction. In a recent auction, their bids were also shown in ETH other than USD, GBP, and other fiat currencies. This is a big step and will boost the adoption of Ethereum quite significantly.
Sotheby's: Auction bids being displayed in ETH pic.twitter.com/ntQovk9y5c
— Blockworks (@Blockworks_) November 18, 2021
Ethereum is seeing major adoption
ETH is used in a lot of places and has many use cases. The cryptocurrency may not be as valued as Bitcoin in terms of market cap, but it has a lot of utility. And now Sotheby’s has shown that as it started accepted ETH as payment for physical items. In the future, we can even see other auction houses and companies that sell art accept Ethereum as a payment method.
Even though this is great news, the question here is whether Sotheby’s will keep the crypto as it is or convert it to fiat. If they do keep it as it is, it will be great for adoption, and they can make a lot more of the increasing prices.
A few issues
While it seems great we must also note that the gas prices on Ethereum are high. For such significant transactions, it might not matter, but on a smaller scale, it is not practical to use Ethereum as a medium for payments. So, even though we saw this is going to boost adoption, it is not happening unless the devs bring the gas prices down on the Ethereum blockchain.
About Sotheby
Sotheby’s is headquartered in New York and was founded in the United Kingdom. It is one of the major fine and decorative art, jewelry, and collectibles brokers in the world. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, with a strong presence in the United Kingdom. Samuel Baker, a bookseller, founded Sotheby’s on March 11, 1744, in London. After George Leigh became a partner in 1767, the firm was renamed Baker & Leigh, and after Baker’s death in 1778, when Leigh’s nephew, John Sotheby, inherited Leigh’s share, it was called Leigh and Sotheby.
What are your thoughts on the fact that Sotheby’s now accepts Ethereum? And do you think this is going to boost adoption in the space? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like and share it with your friends.
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