A million for a trading card.
An autographed Tom Brady football card was bought by an unknown buyer for $1.68 million worth of Litecoin (LTC) in what is being dubbed as one of the largest hard asset transactions paid entirely with cryptocurrency.
The sell was facilitated through an auction hosted by Goldin Auctions which said that the card became the most expensive item to be paid in crypto since it has started to accept this kind of payment last month.
Speaking at Sports Collectors Daily, the founder of the auction house, Ken Goldin, said: “The hobby is undergoing incredible growth unlike anything I have seen in my 40-plus years in the industry.”
Trading cards and crypto as alternative assets
The Goldin Auction house founder also said what’s amazing to see is that the same thing is playing out with crypto.
“Trading cards and crypto are now two of the most rapidly growing alternative asset classes and we know there is a lot of overlap between the communities,” Goldin said.
Meanwhile, Gemini CEO and co-founder Tyler Winklevoss said the 2000 Playoff Contenders card that featured Tom Brady, who was drafted by the New England Patriots where he played 20 seasons with the team, was auctioned in partnership with his crypto exchange.
Winklevoss said that the card was known as the Holy Grail of the collections industry, so it was not surprising that it fetched such a value.
Not the most expensive though
While it may be the Holy Grail, the item was not the most expensive card of this type to be sold at an auction.
Just this month, a card of the same type autographed by the athlete was bought for more than $2.25 million in an auction hosted by Lelands Auctions.
Both cards sported a grade of 8.5 out of 10, but the one sold by Lelands had a lower 9 out of 10 autograph rating, as compared to the 10 out of 10 ratings for the one that was purchased with Litecoin (LTC).
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