Sotheby's Sells 101ct Diamond for $12 million; accepts Cryptocurrency

A 101.38-carat diamond was sold at Sotheby’s for HK$95.1 million ($12.3 million) in cryptocurrency, becoming the most expensive piece of jewelry sold through such type of payment, the auction house said.

The pear-shaped diamond, named “The Key 10138,” was sold to an unidentified private collector on Friday, Sotheby’s said in a statement. The gem from Diacore was the second-largest pear-shaped diamond ever to be sold publicly, it said.

Prior to the sale, the international auction house said it would take Bitcoin or Ether as payment for the diamond, which fetched less than the estimate of as much as $15 million in the single-lot offering in Hong Kong. The auction was livestreamed and attracted no more than a dozen bids.

Earlier in the week, Sotheby’s said it was the most expensive physical object ever publicly offered for purchase with cryptocurrency.

Auction houses are increasingly accepting cryptocurrencies for payment, with Phillips offering a piece from street artist Banksy last month for Ether or Bitcoin. Christie’s accepted payment in Ether in March for the record $69.3 million sale of Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5,000 Days.”