Phillips courts bitcoin tycoons for Banksy painting at upcoming Hong Kong auction

Auction house says it will accept payments in bitcoin and ether for Banksy’s ‘Laugh Now Panel A’, which is estimated between US$2.8 million and US$4.1 million

More art sellers are willing to accept payment in cryptocurrencies, as the number of cryptocurrency millionaires swells

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Banksy’s ‘Laugh Now Panel A’ painting, which is estimated at US$4.1 million at the top end, is displayed at JW Marriott Hotel, in Admiralty, ahead of its auction on Tuesday. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 10:30am, 7 Jun 2021Updated: 9:05pm, 7 Jun 2021

Auction house Phillips said that newly minted cryptocurrency millionaires may bid for an artwork by the mysterious England-based street artist Banksy, estimated at between US$2.8 million and US$4.1 million, when it goes on auction in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

While the bidding will be conducted in Hong Kong dollars, the winning buyer can also choose to pay using bitcoin or ether for Laugh Now Panel A, which features a forlorn monkey wearing a sandwich board with the slogan “Laugh now, but one day we’ll be in charge”.

“Over the past few years many have made fortunes in cryptocurrency and so it was only a matter of time before cryptocurrency starts to be used as a payment method for art and other collectibles,” said Jonathan Crockett, chairman of Phillips Asia, adding that his team had been “inundated with questions as to whether we will start offering this service”.

Bitcoin, the world’s oldest cryptocurrency, has appreciated nearly 10 times since January 2019 when it stood at US$3,880. On Sunday, it was trading at US$36,200, a decline of more than 40 per cent since mid-April when it crossed over US$61,200. The volatility in bitcoin prices has been exacerbated in recent days because of an impending crackdown on bitcoin mining in China and a series of tweets from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, hinting at a potential split with the cryptocurrency.

Many central banks around the world do not consider bitcoin as a means of payment. In March, US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that bitcoin is “a speculative store of value like gold” and lacks key ingredients that would make it a useful currency. “They’re not backed by anything. They’re more of an asset for speculation,” he said.

But the potential of bitcoin as a store of value is being helped by auction houses’ moves to open up their bidding to cryptocurrency holders.

Phillips’ decision to accept cryptocurrencies comes after Sotheby’s move last month. The New York-headquartered auction house said it would accept payment in bitcoin and ether for Banksy’s “Love is in the Air” oil and spray painting on canvas. The artwork sold for US$12.9 million, far exceeding its original estimate of US$3 million to US$5 million.

Sotheby’s, however, declined to confirm if the successful buyer made the payment in bitcoin.