INTO THE ETHER

 

Predating the launch of Ethereum by five months, in February 2015 conceptual artist Sarah Meyohas released Bitchcoin, one of the first ever tokenizations of art. The prescient audacity of the project garnered considerable attention and was featured in Vice and Wired, among other publications. According to critic Tim Schneider, “blockchain-based work probably first surfaced in art-world consciousness in the form of Sarah Meyohas’s Bitchcoin.”¹ Meyohas’s creation of cryptocurrency as art, minted on her own proof-of-work blockchain, engaged with the ownership and utility of art in the digital future, but the intrinsic connection between each Bitchcoin and its constituent artwork necessitated non-fungibility, creating the one of the world’s first NFTs as early as 2015.

"The petals are the proof of work." —Sarah Meyohas

Now, six years later, the artist is migrating Bitchcoin from its native chain to Ethereum, releasing 480 reserved Bitchcoins backed by art from her seminal Cloud of Petals exhibition at Red Bull Arts New York. Five bundles of Bitchcoins will be offered at auction: the first comprising 160 tokens and four subsequent bundles each containing 80 tokens. Each Bitchcoin is backed by a relic created from a rose petal from Cloud of Petals and is uniquely registered on the Ethereum blockchain. While Bitchcoins are artworks in their own right, these tokens are backed by the Cloud of Petals relics; if one chooses to redeem their Bitchcoin for a physical relic, their coin will be destroyed, or “burned,” establishing the symbiotic value of token and backing.

 

1 Tim Schneider, “Cryptocurrencies, Explained: Why Artists Are Already Leaving Bitcoin Behind for Something Bigger”, artnet News, February 6, 2018, online

How do I create an online bidding account?

If you do not have an existing Phillips online bidding account, you can create one by providing the information requested on our registration page. In order to register, you are required to supply the information requested on the registration page, including a valid credit card and other information and verification information required by Phillips, which is outlined in our Conditions of Sale. Please allow a minimum of 24 hours prior to the close of the auction to begin the registration and approval process.

Which currency will bidding be denominated in? 

The online-only auction will be conducted and invoiced in US dollars (USD).

What forms of payment are accepted? 

Payments are due in either USD or in Ether. Each bidder will be responsible for conducting their own U.S. Dollar to Ether cryptocurrency conversion throughout the online-only auction and at the time of each of their bids, and you acknowledge and agree that cryptocurrency rates fluctuate regularly and the conversion rate may change during the course of the online-only auction and you are responsible for the payment of a winning bid at the rate of exchange at the time of the close of the online-only auction, and not at a previous rate of exchange. 

Can I leave my bid at an amount that is not on the ‘PLACE MAX BID’ drop down menu?    

No. All bidding in an online-only auction must be done on our standard bidding increments, as shown on the drop-down menu.

When does bidding close?

The online-only auction is scheduled to close at noon EDT on Friday, May 28th starting with lot 1. The auction will have a rolling close, with each lot closing two minutes after the previous lot. Our online-only auction also features dynamic bidding, also known as “Popcorn Bidding." If a bid is made within two minutes of the auction's scheduled closing time, Popcorn Bidding automatically extends the scheduled closing time for each lot for another two minutes after the bid is made. Each subsequent bid resets the clock to allow bids to be made for another two minutes. Once there has been no bidding activity for two minutes, the bidding is considered completed and no further bidding is accepted.

How is the total purchase price calculated?

If you are the successful bidder and buyer of the NFT, you agree to pay us the Hammer Price of the lot, the Buyer’s Premium and any applicable sales tax (the “Purchase Price”). The Hammer Price is the final, highest bid accepted for the NFT when the Phillips closes bidding during the Bitchcoin by Sarah Meyohas online-only auction.
 
The Buyer’s Premium is the commission Phillips charges the successful highest bidder and buyer of the NFT and is calculated on the Hammer Price of the NFT as follows: Twenty-six percent (26%) of the portion of the Hammer Price up to and including $600,000; and Twenty-one percent (21%) of the portion of the Hammer Price above $600,000 up to and including $6,000,000 and 14.5% of the portion of the Hammer Price above $6,000,000.

Are there resale royalties due to the artist on secondary market sales?      

On any subsequent resale of each NFT, the successful bidder and buyer at the online-only auction may be obligated on Seller’s behalf to collect and remit to Seller resale royalties as applicable, equal to 5% of the sale price of each NFT. Other resale royalties and transaction duties imposed by law may also apply in relation to such resales.

Which digital wallets are compatible with Bitchcoin?

Bitchcoins are ERC-1155 non-fungible tokens and are compatible with all Ethereum-based digital wallets.

PLEASE NOTE THAT BY REGISTERING TO BID YOU AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING:

• You are bidding as principal and not on behalf of anyone else

• You have a wallet capable of supporting and accemting an ERC-155 token

• You accept and understand that payment can be made in Ether only if made:

  • from a single wallet registered to you;

  • using funds belonging to you; and

  • maintained by one of the following:

    • Coinbase Custody Trust;

    • Coinbase, Inc.;

    • Fidelity Digital Assets Services, LLC;

    • Gemini Trust Company, LLC; or

    • Paxos Trust Company, LLC.

 
Payments from digital wallets hosted at other exchanges or self-hosted wallets will not be recognised or accepted and in such circumstances payment will be required in US dollars.
 
If you are the successful bidder you agree to provide us with all information and documentation we request in order to verify your identity and to confirm that the Ether payment was made from a digital wallet registered in your name and maintained at by one of the platforms above. Partial payments of a lot from multiple digital wallets will not be accepted.

 

Please view the full Conditions of Sale, NFTs.