- The ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign made famous in 2017 has sold for more than $1 million at auction
- Christian Langalis went viral when he held up a sign behind Janet Yellen during a televised Congressional hearing
- The money will be used to fund Langlais’ Bitcoin startup
There aren’t many physical pieces of Bitcoin memorabilia, but one has recently fetched more than $1 million at auction. In July 2017, Christian Langalis went viral when he held up a sign during a televised Congressional hearing simply saying two words: Buy Bitcoin. The sign was in plain view behind the speaker, then Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, as a simple riposte to what she represented. Seven years later, it has fetched more than $1 million at auction, with the proceeds going to fund Langlais’ Bitcoin layer-2 lightning startup Tirrel Corp.
Instant Star
Langlais became an instant meme with his stunt, one that saw him escorted out of the hearing room for violating committee rules. He was more popular online, however, becoming an instant online star, and, fortunately for him, he kept the sign, scribbled with a biro on a yellow legal pad.
Langlais told Coindesk in an interview earlier in the month that he had decided to sell the sign in a bid to raise money for his startup, adding that he had no preconceptions of how much the sign would fetch. He had, however, turned down a private bid of $350,000, which would prove to be just as well.
Squirrekkywrath Takes Home the Prize
The sign was auctioned through Scarce.City but was held physically at PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York City. The winning bid of ₿16 ($1 million) was placed by Justin, A.K.A. Squirrekkywrath, described as “a bitcoin OG that no one has ever heard of”:
Congratulations to Justin, A.K.A. Squirrekkywrath, winner of the #BitcoinSignGuy auction for 16 #BTC. 🏆@tpacchia Get this man a Whale! 🐳 pic.twitter.com/DPpczcEzkJ
— PUBKEY (@PubKey_NYC) April 24, 2024
Langlais’ ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign isn’t the only piece of physical Bitcoin memorabilia around; in 2013, the graphics card that mined the first block after the first-ever halving was sold for $850.
