On 18th November Sotheby’s will be auctioning off two artworks by Banksy. While that would not normally be newsworthy for a tech site like ours, the interesting element at play here is that the auction house will be accepting bids in Ether for the aforementioned Banksy pieces.

As such, it would a be first for the auction world, as cryptocurrency has not been used to make bids before. We’re sure that crypto has changed hands in the past for artwork, but this is the first time that a house like Sotheby’s is doing it.

“In an auction world first, Sotheby’s auctioneer Oliver Barker is set to field bids live from the New York saleroom in Ether (ETH) cryptocurrency for Banksy’s Trolley Hunters [pictured in the header image] and Love Is In The Air (2006), when the artist’s works make their auction debuts as part of the newly-conceived ‘The Now Evening Auction’ on November 18,” the auctioneer noted in a statement.

“While bidding increments for both works will be announced in Ether, the winning bidders will have the option of paying the hammer price for each work in fiat currency or in the three cryptocurrencies accepted by Sotheby’s: Ether (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), and USD Coin (USDC),” it adds.

It will be interesting to see which currency the winning bid will be in and whether Banksy has another stunt in store for the event, but perhaps more importantly, it sees crypto being accepted in more areas outside of the realm of technology.

We have already seen NFTs explode in 2021, and while we are still on the fence regarding tokens and ownership, it is clear that cryptocurrencies are becoming more pervasive.