Bitcoiners Spend Millions On ‘Buy Bitcoin’ Sign and First Sat Of Halving Block

Two auctions that ended today saw collectors shell out $3.2 million for Bitcoin memorabilia.

The first was the famous ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign that made headlines in 2017 when Christian Langalis, then an intern at the Cato Institute, scribbled those words on a yellow legal pad behind Fed chair Janet Yellen as she appeared before the House Financial Services Committee.

It went viral and has remained a revered symbol of the Bitcoin ecosystem ever since.

According to Scarce City, the digital auction house that facilitated the trade, the pseudonymous Squirrekkywrath had the highest bid – a whopping 16 BTC, worth $1.03 million at current prices.

The auction ended at PubKey, a bar dedicated to Bitcoin in New York City.

An Epic Sat

The second auction that ended today involved the first Satoshi of the recent Bitcoin halving, which took place on April 19.

One of only four in existence, theauction of ‘Epic Sat’ 1,968,750,000,000,000 ended Thursday with a winning bid of 33.3 BTC, worth $2.13 million. It began on April 19, the day after the halving, with a starting bid of 1 BTC, roughly $64,796 at the time.

The Epic Sat was put on sale by mining firm ViaBTC, and the buyer has chosen to remain anonymous as of writing.

According to Ordinals theory, users attach special attributes to Satoshis, the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin. Epic Sats are tagged onto the first Satoshi mined in every Bitcoin halving.

“The auction has concluded successfully, with the FIRST & ONLY epic sat selling for 33.3 $BTC (≈$2,134,000),” wrote Coinex, the platform that executed the auction. “This auction isn't just a bidding event; it marked the community recognition, media attention, & widespread embrace of Bitcoin.”