Yellow Legal Pad with “Buy Bitcoin” Sells for Over $1 Million at Auction
The iconic yellow legal pad with the words “Buy Bitcoin” written on it, famously displayed behind former United States Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen during a congressional hearing in 2017, has been sold at an auction for over $1 million, equivalent to 16 Bitcoin.
The auction, which took place on the Bitcoin auction platform Scarce City, concluded on April 24 with the winning bidder identified as “Justin,” also known as “Squirrekkywrath.” The seller of the pad was Christian Langalis, who had written the note and briefly flashed it to the camera while seated behind Yellen during a televised House Financial Services Committee hearing in July 2017.
Langalis was promptly escorted out of the hearing due to the prohibition of displaying signs. However, the impact was noticeable, as Bitcoin’s price reportedly increased by 3.7%, reaching over $2,418, according to CNBC.
After Scarce City’s 15% fee deduction, Langalis is expected to receive approximately $875,000 or 13.6 BTC from the sale. In the auction listing, Langalis expressed his satisfaction in releasing the pad and returning it to the Bitcoin community.
In 2019, Langalis created and sold 21 replicas of the sign, which fetched an average price of 0.8 BTC, equivalent to approximately $51,300 today. According to the listing, these replicas are currently displayed in the offices of venture firms Paradigm, Blockchain Capital, Castle Island Ventures, and the crypto think-tank Coin Center.
Bloomberg reported that Langalis intends to utilize the proceeds from this recent sale to support a Bitcoin software project.
On Wednesday, Bitcoin crashed to as low as $63,589, down 4% from the intra-day high. The sell-off came amidst persistent resistance faced by Bitcoin, despite its attempts to consolidate above the $66,000 mark. The negative funding rate indicates that the market’s sentiment has changed towards a bearish mood when the short positions outweigh the long positions.
As Bitcoin continues to experience volatility, experts are closely monitoring the market to predict its future movements. Stay tuned for more updates on the cryptocurrency market.
