A 101.38-carat diamond sold at auction in Hong Kong has become the most physical object ever to have been purchased using cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reports.
Fast facts
- The HK$95.1 million (US$12.3 million) sale price nevertheless fell short of the expected US$15 million price, auctioneer Sotheby’s said.
- A spokesperson for Sotheby’s told Forkast.News it was unable to confirm which cryptocurrency the anonymous buyer used, although earlier reporting said it was accepting payment in fiat, Bitcoin and Ether.
- The pear-shaped diamond, named “The Key 10138”, was the second-largest diamond of that shape to ever be sold publicly.
- A carat is equal to 200 milligram unit of weight used to measure diamonds and other gemstones. Using that scale, the Key 10138 weighed 20.276 grams or 0.715 oz. In gold, however, carat refers to the purity of the metal.
