MoonPay, a cryptocurrency payments company, was the highest bidder for a coveted non-fungible token (NFT) at Christie’s on Tuesday, operating on behalf of an anonymous buyer.
At Christie’s London Evening Sale, the startup paid £567,000 ($754,340) for a rare artefact from the World of Women (WoW) collection.
#5672 is one of the most expensive WoW artefacts ever sold, thanks to the sum paid by MoonPay, which a source close to the case verified was the buyer.
WoW #5672 just sold for 567,000 GBP at @ChristiesInc London Evening Sale! 🤩
Thanks to everyone 🤵♀️ who witnessed this historical moment with us 😉 and welcome to the WoW fam to our new buyer! 💜 pic.twitter.com/sO6WPjzyAa
— World of Women (@worldofwomennft) March 1, 2022
A night goddess skin tone and a tuxedo are among the piece’s unique features. It was auctioned off among works by world-famous painters like Keith Haring, Pablo Picasso, and David Hockney.
Moonpay’s primary business is to provide infrastructure that allows web and mobile developers to allow their consumers to buy virtual currencies with credit cards.
Late last year, it also launched a concierge service, which was previously described as a “white glove service for high net worth individuals who want to buy NFTs in the simplest way without all the hassle of setting up a wallet, buying crypto, using that crypto to buy an NFT, and then taking custody of it.”
MoonPay buys NFTs and bills its customers for them as well as any other services supplied. This looks to be the service’s latest move, as it generally purchases products through OpenSea. It’s unclear who MoonPay purchased the WoW item on behalf of at this time.
An auction house in the United Kingdom Christie’s has experience with NFT sales and takes ether or bitcoin as payment, but only through UK Financial Conduct Authority-approved firms.
It sold a collection of nine CryptoPunks and a Beeple piece last year.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
