Millions of dollars have been spent on rare reminders of Bitcoin’s past – with some auctions for NFTs breaking records.
Bitcoin is now in its teens – and that means there’s a growing need for memorabilia from the cryptocurrency’s early days.
It’s like an unsealed first-generation iPod hitting the market. Bidders go crazy and end up paying $29,000 for sentimental value.
Here we’re going to look at five of the biggest (and craziest) crypto-related auctions of all time.
Janet Yellen in 2017 | Source: Bloomberg
1. The ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign
Being a digital asset, there aren’t that many tangible memories associated with Bitcoin. An honorable exception is a single sheet of paper.
In 2017, then-Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen gave testimony to Congress about the state of the economy. In comments that could easily have been yesterday, she warned that the US is still a long way from returning to its 2% inflation target.
In the background, a 22-year-old hastily scribbled “Buy Bitcoin” on his notebook — and held it up to the camera during Yellen’s testimony. Screenshots of the stunt quickly went viral on social media, resulting in BTC rising to $2,398 (yes, we know).
The sign ‘Buy Bitcoin’ | Source: Scarce city
Christian Langalis – also known as “Bitcoin Sign Guy” – told auction site Scarce City:
“It’s good to finally free this song from my sock drawer and offer it back to the Bitcoin audience. The message was subversive then, but now only clear: Bitcoin flows. Control is dead.”
Christian Langalis
The bidding lasted more than a week, with the grand finale at the crypto-themed Pubkey Bar in New York City. Ultimately, it was sold for 16 BTC, which was worth around $1 million at the time of writing.
“The best and most under-discussed part of the story about the man who bought the famous ‘Buy Bitcoin’ notebook for 16 BTC is that he turned down an Uber and took it home on the subway.
As soon as he walked in and sat alone in the corner of the room, I knew he was going… pic.twitter.com/RIRMyP5SbD
— PUBKEY (@PubKey_NYC) April 27, 2024
2. An epic Saturday
The rise of Ordinals now means that a single satoshi, the smallest possible value of one Bitcoin, can be numbered and even converted into an NFT.
Ordinals creator Casey Rodarmor says this also means some sats are significantly more valuable than others – with varying degrees of rarity.
Sats have varying levels of rarity | Source: Casey Rodarmor
Sats that are in the ‘epic’ tier include the very first ones to be mined after a halving event.
Only four currently exist – and after mining company ViaBTC was chosen to add the 840,000th block to the blockchain, it decided to sell the debut of this current cycle. The auction was held on CoinEx and went under the hammer for 33.3 BTC – approximately $2.1 million. The exchange said afterwards:
“This epic satoshi symbolizes a historic moment in Bitcoin history and has significant collectible and symbolic value for Bitcoin enthusiasts, collectors and investors in the cryptocurrency community.”
MuntEx
The auction was successfully completed, with the FIRST & ONLY epic selling for 33.3 $BTC (≈$2,134,000). This auction is not just a bidding event; it marked the community recognition, media attention and widespread embrace of #Bitcoin. A sincere thank you to everyone who supports us. pic.twitter.com/fCFz1YrH0I
— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) April 25, 2024
3. Extraordinary ordinal numbers
The mania around NFTs was initially isolated to the Ethereum blockchain, but the rise of Ordinals now means Bitcoin has become the dominant retail network.
In December 2023, esteemed auction house Sotheby’s held an auction for BitcoinShrooms – with creator Shroomtoshi stating:
“The BitcoinShrooms collection is a gritty summary of the first 13 years of Bitcoin, a tribute to the 8-bit art style that expresses a slight nostalgia for the 90s.”
Shroomtoshi
Shroomtoshis | Source: Sotheby’s
A select number were up for bid, each with an estimated value of up to $30,000. But appetite far exceeded expectations – and they sold for a total of $450,000.
While not as eye-popping as the price of OG Ethereum NFTs when the market was at its frothy, it’s still a sign that the digital collectibles space isn’t dead yet.
One of the Shroomtoshi’s auctioned | Source: Sotheby’s
You might also like: Why did Binance dump Ordinals – and will the market survive?
4. Beeple breaks records
No overview of the biggest auctions in crypto history would be complete without a nod to Beeple, who started sharing digital artwork on a daily basis in 2007.
The first 5,000 were then pasted together in a vibrant collage and minted as an NFT in 2021. What was the final sale price at Christie’s auction house, we hear you ask? $69.3 million.
Every day: the first 5,000 days by Beeple | Source: Christie’s
Not only did Everydays: The First 5,000 Days break records for the most valuable piece of digital art in history, but Beeple became the third most valuable living artist. He accurately predicted what the future held for NFTs Fox News Sunday shortly after:
“I definitely think it’s a bubble, to be honest. I go back to the analogy of the beginning of the internet. There was a bubble. And the bubble burst.”
Beep
5. Real life Bitcoin
Last but not least, there have been some feverish auctions lately for Casascius coins: physical BTC created in early 2010.
Each metal coin contains the private key to a fixed value of Bitcoin, essentially making it an incredibly advanced form of cold storage.
Their rarity and the fact that they have not been produced for over a decade means that they often command prices much higher than the value of the BTC they hold.
A copper Casascius 1 Bitcoin, minted in 2011, recently sold for $96,000 at Stack’s Bowers Galleries – breaking world records – while a silver one was snagged for a cool $102,000.
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