Iconic “Buy Bitcoin Sign” Behind Janet Yellen Sells for 16 BTC ($1M)

The iconic ‘Buy Bitcoin’ sign that photobombed former Fed chair, Janet Yellen, in 2017 sold for over $1 million.

One of the most popular Bitcoin artifacts, a “Buy Bitcoin” sign has recently been sold for 16 BTC in an auction organized by Scarce City. The auction lasted a week, ending in an in-person bidding at PubKey, a Bitcoin-themed bar in New York City.

At the end of the auction, the sign was officially sold for 16 BTC, worth about $1,025,520 at press time. The buyer is a pseudonymous Bitcoin proponent known as Squirrekkywrath.

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

According to Scarce City, the “Buy Bitcoin” sign auction was the highest amount the auction platform has ever sold an item.

The Story Behind The Legendary Bitcoin Artifact

The legendary sign featured a handwritten message by Christian Langalis with the words “Buy Bitcoin” on a yellow notepad. Langalis got a seat behind Janet Yellen during her televised Congressional hearing in July 2017 from where he quickly flashed the sign at the camera.

Langalis was immediately escorted out for breaking committee hearing rules, which prohibit signs from being displayed during a hearing. The sign, however, gained massive attention from the crypto community, with Langalis earning the famous nickname “Bitcoin Sign Guy”.

Despite being hastily written, the ”Buy Bitcoin” sign quickly became a popular symbol of enthusiasm among the small but fast-growing community of early crypto adopters. Interestingly, bitcoin’s price surged by 3.7% to over $2,400 a few minutes after Langalis flashed the sign.

Before the auction, Langalis had previously leveraged the sign’s popularity to create and sell replicas of the original for an average price of 0.8 BTC, worth about $51,000 at today’s prices.

The sale of this iconic Bitcoin artifact solidifies the significance of the crypto industry in the global financial market. From $2,400 in 2017 to over $73,000 last month, Bitcoin has continued to defy all odds and prove itself to be a safe haven asset.

With the increased demand, several institutional investors have continued to accumulate more BTC.

After Scarce City takes its 15% commission, Langalis is expected to receive about 13.6 BTC, worth around 878,000 at press time. According to Bloomberg, Langalis intends to use the proceeds from the sale to fund his startup, Tirrel Corp, which is developing a Bitcoin Lightning network wallet.