Epic sats and pieces of paper: 5 crazy crypto auctions

Millions of dollars have been spent on rare memorabilia from Bitcoin’s past; Some auctions for NFTs have broken records.

Bitcoin is now in its teens, and that means there’s a growing appetite for memorabilia from the early days of cryptocurrency.

It’s like the release of an unsealed, first-generation iPod. Bidders go crazy and end up paying $29,000 for sentimental value.

Here, we’ll look at five of the biggest (and craziest) crypto-related auctions of all time.

Janet Yellen in 2017 | Source: Bloomberg 1. ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign

Since it is a digital asset, there are not many tangible memories associated with Bitcoin. An honorable exception is a single piece of paper.

In 2017, then-Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen was making statements to Congress about the state of the economy. In remarks that could easily have been made yesterday, she warned that the United States is some way away from returning to its 2% inflation target.

In the background, a 22-year-old hurriedly wrote “Buy Bitcoin” on a notepad and held it up to the camera during Yellen’s testimony. Screenshots of the demonstration went viral on social media, resulting in BTC rising to $2,398 (yes, we know).

‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign | Source: Scarce City

Christian Langalis, also known as the “Bitcoin Sign Guy,” told auction site Scarce City:

“It’s nice to finally rescue this trick from my sock drawer and offer it back to the Bitcoin people. The message was devastating at the time, but it’s clear now: Bitcoin is flowing. Control is dead.”

Christian Langalis

Bidding took place over a week, and the grand finale was held at the crypto-themed Pubkey Bar in New York City. At the time of this writing, it was sold for 16 BTC, which is worth approximately $1 million.

“The best and least reported part of the story about the guy who bought the infamous ‘Buy Bitcoin’ notebook for 16 BTC is that he refused an Uber and took the subway home.

When he came in and sat alone in a corner of the room, I knew he was leaving… 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 unit of a Bitcoin, can be enumerated and even turned into an NFT.

Casey Rodarmor, the creator of ordinals, says this also means that some sats are significantly more valuable than others — with varying degrees of rarity.

Sats have different rarity levels | Source: Casey Rodarmor

Sats at the “epic” level include the first sats issued after the halving event.

Only four of them are currently available, and mining company ViaBTC decided to sell the first sat of this current cycle after being selected to add the 840,000th block to the blockchain. The auction was held on CoinEx and sold for 33.3 BTC (approximately $2.1 million). The stock exchange later said:

“This epic satoshi symbolizes a historic moment in Bitcoin history and holds significant collectible and symbolic value for Bitcoin enthusiasts, collectors and investors in the cryptocurrency community.”

CoinEx

The auction was successful and the FIRST and ONLY epic sold for 33.3 $BTC (≈$2,134,000). This auction is not just a bidding event; It signaled public recognition, media attention and widespread adoption. #Bitcoin. We sincerely thank everyone who supports us. pic.twitter.com/fCFz1YrH0I

— CoinEx Global (@coinexcom) April 25, 2024

3. Extraordinary Ordinals

The frenzy surrounding NFTs was initially limited to the Ethereum blockchain, but the rise of Ordinals now means Bitcoin has become the dominant network for sales.

In December 2023, respected auction house Sotheby’s held an auction for BitcoinShrooms, with creator Shroomtoshi stating:

“The BitcoinShrooms collection is a pixelated compendium of the first 13 years of Bitcoin; It is a homage to the 8-bit art style that expresses a slight nostalgia for the 90s.”

Shroomtoshi Shroomtoshis | Source: Sotheby’s

A select few were available for bidding, each with an estimated value of up to $30,000. However, appetite far exceeded expectations and it sold for a total of $450,000.

While it’s not as eye-watering as the price of OG Ethereum NFTs when the market was at its most frothy, it’s a sign that the digital collectible space isn’t dead yet.

One of the Shroomtoshi was sold at auction | Source: Sotheby’s 4. Beeple breaks records

No recap of the biggest auctions in crypto history would be complete without a nod to Beeple, who started sharing digital art pieces daily in 2007.

The first 5,000 were then assembled into a vibrant collage and minted as an NFT in 2021. What was the last sale price at Christie’s auction house, we hear you ask? $69.3 million.

Everydays: The First 5,000 Days by Beeple | Source: Christie’s

Everydays: The First 5000 Days not only broke the record for the most valuable digital artwork in history, Beeple became the third most valuable living artist. Accurately predicting what the future holds for NFTs, he soon followed up with this on Fox News Sunday:

“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.”

Beeple 5. Real-life Bitcoin

Last but not least, there have been heated auctions for Casascius coins (physical BTC created in the early 2010s) recently.

Inside each metal coin is the private key to a specific unit of Bitcoin, effectively making it an incredibly complex form of cold storage.

Their rarity and lack of production in over a decade means that they are often priced much higher than the BTC value they hold.

A brass Casascius 1 Bitcoin minted in 2011 recently sold for $96,000 at Stack’s Bowers Galleries, breaking world records in the process. The silver one was sold for $102,000.