Coinbase is estimated to facilitate payments of up to 8-figures on Sotheby’s website during the auction period.
Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) announced that it was selected to facilitate payments by Sotheby’s during the Contemporary Art Evening Auction. Notably, according to Sanchan Saxena, Vice President Ecosystem, Coinbase Commerce will enable the firm to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum for Banksy’s Love is in the Air image.
In another step bringing the utility of cryptocurrency mainstream, @Sothebys announced their collaboration with Coinbase Commerce to allow bitcoin and ethereum as payment for the purchase of a Banksy image at their May 12th evening auction. https://t.co/qpUMybBa6L
— Coinbase News (@CoinbaseNews) May 4, 2021
“Coinbase is proud to provide Sotheby’s with a sophisticated payment solution, backed by our deep liquidity, and expertise with trading cryptocurrencies,” said Sanchan. “This is an example of an enterprise that is evolving with their client base to cater to crypto-forward consumers.”
Reportedly, Coinbase is estimated to facilitate payments of up to 8-figures on Sotheby’s website during the auction period. The firm was selected based on its credibility to offer reliable market data and in turn manage price fluctuations.
The Live Auction is expected to take place on May 12, 2021, in New York. The exhibition opened on Saturday, May 1, and is expected to attract global buyers and sellers.
Notably, during the May 12 live auction, Sotheby’s will conduct the process in US dollars. However, the participants have the option to transact in the supported digital currencies.
Coinbase and Sotheby’s
According to Coinbase, the new partnership with Sotheby’s will open up more avenues for future cryptocurrency adoption. Especially now when more institutional investors and retail traders continue to adopt digital assets as a hedge factor against deflationary fiat currencies.
On the other hand, Sotheby’s anticipates widening the market reach through the digital assets industry. Furthermore, more global artists are embracing digital arts through blockchain technology.
“Leveraging the trusted exchange Coinbase is a natural progression and is in line with our dedication to enhancing our client buying experience and developing new ways to expand our client base by meeting them where they are,” noted Stefan Pepe, Sotheby’s Chief Technology Officer.
The announcement, however, did not make any positive impact on the Coinbase stock market as it continued to bleed. According to metrics provided by MarketWatch, COIN stock was trading around $279.79, down approximately 5%. Additionally, COIN stocks have dropped over 7% during the past seven days.
Consequently, the company’s market capitalization has dropped to approximately $58 billion in comparison to the IPO debut at $100 billion.
A similar situation was observed in the crypto market as Bitcoin was down approximately 5% and trading around $54,260 at the time of reporting according to metrics provided by CoinGecko.
next